An 18-year-old Honduran national accused of decapitating his 35-year-old mother in North Carolina was an illegal immigrant, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told Fox 46 Charlotte Tuesday.

ICE issued a detainer for Oliver Funes-Machado Tuesday after he was charged with first-degree murder the previous day. When police officers responded to a call in Franklin County, they saw Funes-Machado exiting a home carrying his mother’s head in one hand and holding what “looked to be a large butcher knife” in the other hand, Sheriff Kent Winstead said. When the officers entered the home, they discovered the remainder of Yesenia Funes Beatriz Machado’s body inside.

“It’s tough for the deputies. It’s tough for the communities. We will be offering any of them assistance who just may need it because it was a horrific scene that first responders had to respond to.”

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“Officers encountered the suspect holding a knife and, as reported, also holding his mother’s head in the other arm,” Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Terry Wright told ABC 11. “It’s tough for the deputies. It’s tough for the communities. We will be offering any of them assistance who just may need it because it was a horrific scene that first responders had to respond to.”

Also present in the home were two young siblings, though neither had been harmed. Another child was at school when the decapitation occurred.

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“The mother’s head was lying in the front yard,” Randy Mullins, who lives in the neighborhood and witnessed the police handcuffing Funes-Machado, told The News & Observer. “He’s lucky the police didn’t just shoot him — you come out holding a head and a knife.”

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At this point, prosecution and defense attorneys said they suspect mental health issues may play a role in the case, as court documents state that the illegal immigrant took four medications for psychosis and schizophrenia. Otherwise, no other concrete motive has been suggested for what led to the horrific crime.

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Funes-Machado’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 14. Until then, he is being held without bond.

“ICE is focused on identifying, arresting, and removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” an ICE spokesperson told ABC 11.