ST. PAUL, Minn. - A woman found dead after a house fire in St. Paul early Thursday morning was killed by her 20-year-old son, according to Ramsey County prosecutors.
Michael Ray Caldwell was charged Friday with one count of second degree murder. His mother, Lorine Mary Johnson, was found after firefighters were called to a house fire just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
According to the criminal complaint, Caldwell admitted to police he strangled his mother and meant to kill her. Caldwell confessed to the murder during a psychological evaluation at United Hospital on Friday.
Caldwell had just returned to St. Paul where he lived with his mother on Carroll Avenue. Caldwell had been in a mental health facility in Kansas City, but Johnson wanted him home, so she signed him out against doctor's advice, according to the criminal complaint.
Johnson's boyfriend said Caldwell had been acting odd and he "moved constantly as if he were on PCP or something," the complaint said. Johnson's boyfriend also said Caldwell "had a spacey look in his eyes and wasn't listening to a word Johnson said to him."
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