Woman's dismembered body stuffed inside crate, son charged with her murder

HOUSTON - Investigators found a woman's body was dismembered and stuffed inside a crate inside the garage of a northwest Harris County, Texas home.

The grisly discovery was made early Thursday morning as sheriff's deputies were conducting a welfare check 11100 block of Cactus Point, near Barker Cypress, after someone reported they had not seen or heard from their family member at the home for two days.

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When deputies arrived, they were greeted by 36-year-old Robert Barnes. Officers say he came off as hostile and gave them a reason to believe that something just wasn't right.

Robert Barnes (Source: Harris County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies obtained a search warrant and made it inside the residence, where they discovered a large amount of blood and no sign of the woman.

After homicide units arrived, that's when they discovered the victim's body inside the garage.

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The woman has been identified as 72-year-old Lucila Barnes, the mother of Robert Barnes.

Authorities said Robert confessed to the murder. He's been arrested and charged with murder and tampering with a corpse.