A 19-year-old man has been arrested on a capital murder charge in Texas after police say he confessed to stabbing a 75-year-old woman for refusing to help him fix his broken-down truck.

Marco Cobos, who is a Mexican national living in Houston, was arrested on Monday night in the death of Etta Nugent after returning to the scene of the crime.

Cobos is homeless and had been living in a stolen truck in the area of Nugent's home in the 8100 block of Neff Street for at least two days leading up to the deadly home invasion.

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Marco Cobos, 19 (left),has been charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of Etta Nugent, 75 (right), in Houston Sunday night

Nugent's son arrived at his mother's home in the 8100 block of Neff Street on Monday afternoon and discovered her lifeless body

When questioned by police, Cobos allegedly told them that his vehicle had broken down and he asked Nugent to give him a hand on Sunday.

When the homeowner refused, citing her age, police say Nugent forced his way inside her home sometime after 7pm and stabbed her several times.

Cobos then allegedly stole $560 from the house, took Nugent's Honda Accord and drove to a store to buy a new car battery and some food, which he returned to the blood-spattered home to eat, KTRK reported.

The 19-year-old murder suspect spent several hours inside the residence and allegedly used the victim's credit card to pay his cellphone bill.

By the time Nugent's son arrived at the house and found his mother’s lifeless body at around 1.30pm on Monday, Cobos had fled in her Honda.

Hours later, as police detectives summoned by the son were carrying out an investigation, Cobos returned to the area in the victim’s stolen car and was apprehended, reported Chron.com.

Cobos, who is a Mexican national, appeared in court on Tuesday and was ordered held without bond on a capital murder charge

During Cobos’ initial court appearance on Tuesday, a prosecutor revealed that the defendant told police how he initially stabbed the elderly woman once in the chest, but she did not die right away, so he went into the kitchen to look for more knives.

Nugent made a desperate attempt to escape through the front door, but the prosecutors said that Cobos heard noises by the door, seized Nugent and stabbed her again, killing her.

A judge ordered the 19-year-old murder suspect held without bond.

Nugent was a retired parish secretary at Holy Ghost Catholic Church and had worshiped at St Francis de Sales Catholic Church across the street from her home for the past 50 years.

She had spent most of the month of May alone at her home while her husband had been recovering from a medical procedure at a nursing facility.

Nugent was supposed to visit him on Monday, but when she failed to turn up, the couple’s son became alarmed and went over to their house to check on his mother, only to find her dead.

The couple's long-time neighbor Sharon Shanahan described Nugent as a 'gentle soul' and a 'good Christian woman. '