Man accused of killing mother, putting body in freezer

MAYWOOD -- The 19-year-old Maywood man who walked into the Huntington Park police station with the news he had butchered and frozen his mother remained behind bars Saturday.

The body does appear to have been dismembered to some extent," Lt. Brian Elias of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said.

The suspect was identified at midday as Moises Meraz-Espinoza, 19, said Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. Meraz-Espinoza was booked for suspicion of murder and held without bail.

He went to the Huntington Park police station, which is staffed by sheriff's deputies under contract to the city, on Friday and allegedly confessed to an officer or detective there yesterday, sheriff's deputies said. 

"This afternoon about 1 o'clock, a male about 20 years old walked into a local police department here and said that he had murdered someone and that the body was at the location," sheriff's Lt. Mike Rosson of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said.

Neighbors told broadcast outlets that the mother and son shared the apartment where the frozen, dismembered body was found.

Hecht said the sheriff's department was releasing no further details.