A southern New Jersey man has been indicted in the death of his mother, who authorities say died from injuries she suffered when he attacked her in their home.
Burlington County prosecutors say 46-year-old Marcilo Gacutan, of Mount Laurel, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the indictment handed up this week by a county grand jury. He remains jailed on $250,000 bail, and prosecutors say an arraignment hearing will soon be scheduled.
His 66-year-old mother, Shirley Gacutan, told police that he threw her to the ground and choked her with his hands after an argument in their home last October. She refused medical treatment, but went to a hospital the next day for head pain and underwent surgery for a brain hemorrhage.
Following surgery, she went into a coma. The charge against her son was then upgraded to aggravated assault.
Shirley Gacutan died a few weeks later, and an autopsy determined that her death was due to the original injury she suffered during the assault. The death was eventually ruled a homicide.
Authorities have not said what sparked the initial argument between Gacutan and his mother.
