A New York City ex-con was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly beat his elderly mother to death inside her Bronx apartment Monday night.
Melvin Arias, 57, was charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon in connection to the death of 79-year-old Francisca Trinidad.
A neighbor called 911 at 11:23 p.m. Monday over a loud argument at the victim’s apartment on the Grand Concourse near E. 156th Street.
Officers found Trinidad dead with “defensive wounds on her hands and face,” prosecutor Michael Pabon said.
The suspect was found at the scene “with a knife on his person and fresh scratches on his face that were still bleeding.”
Investigators believe Arias beat his mother with his hands and a sharp object until she lost consciousness.
Arias has a lengthy criminal history with a total of five prior convictions and three failures to appear in court.
