A man is facing charges following the murder of his mother in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.
Police said Thursday afternoon that a death investigation was underway on Columbia Road. Around 9:45 p.m., police confirmed that officers responded around 2:20 p.m. to find a woman dead.
The woman was not immediately identified and police did not say how she died.
The woman's son, Zackery Grandy, 22, of Dorchester, was taken into custody, police said.
Grandy was arraigned Friday in Dorchester District Court on a murder charge. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Prosecutors said Grandy's mother, who was later identified as Gisele Thomas, died sometime between Wednesday and Thursday.
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Defense attorney Keith Halpern said Grandy comes from a large family and has struggled with mental illness over the years.
"He has no touch with reality. You can't hold a conversation with him," Halpern said outside of court. "My understanding, just from talking with the family, is that he's been hospitalized. There's just been a revolving door of hospitalizations."
The judge ordered Grandy to be held without bail and be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
"It is my opinion currently he is suffering from mental illness," court-appointed psychologist Anne Johnson said.
Grandy is due back in court March 18.
