Following a 28-hour search by police, Henry David “Hank” Laird was arrested in Oklahoma after his 56-year old mother was found beaten to death at the bottom of a staircase at their family home.

Laird, 17, has previously been involved with three other domestic violence incidents in which his mother was the victim.

Josiah Israel Sklar was also arrested by police. Sklar said he saw the attack and that Laird struck his mother with the butt of a shotgun about 20 times early on Tuesday morning. Police believe that the incident that happened Tuesday morning unfortunately fits the pattern of Laird’s past behavior.

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“People have told us (Hank Laird) is kind of a violent fella,” said Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker. “We’ve confirmed that through other sources and through his criminal history.”

With respect to Laird’s deceased mother and the previous abuse she had endured at the hands of her son, Walker added, “It’s almost a sad commentary, because she could have gotten away from him at any time and kept bringing him back. It’s a typical domestic violence cycle.”

It took more than 20 minutes for police to convince Laird to give himself up after they located him; he was reportedly “laughing and smiling” when taken into custody, reports The Huffington Post.

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Despite the amount of time it took to get Laird in handcuffs, authorities are unsurprisingly happy with the end result.

“We are just thankful we have [Laird] in custody," Officer Jill Roberson reportedly said. “There has already been one tragedy out of this. We definitely did not want another one.”

Laird is charged with first-degree murder.

(Tulsa World)

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