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HOUSTON – A woman was found dead in her home near River Oaks Wednesday afternoon, and her 20-year-old son has been charged with killing her.

John Shank is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Authorities said Nancy Shank’s body was found by a neighbor in the 3700 block of Overbrook around 12:30 p.m.

“Well, it’s very shocking that something like this would happen in this neighborhood. I heard the helicopter above and I came out … This is just something that does not happen [here],” neighbor Marvin McMurrey said.

Investigators said the neighbor who discovered the body went to the home after hearing a loud argument inside.

“There was an altercation at the residence here between a mother and her son. The mother was either cut or stabbed and she died at the scene,” HPD Sgt. John Roberts said.

Roberts said the neighbor found the victim’s body near the front door. Neighbors said her throat was slashed.

Witnesses reported seeing John Shank flee the scene in a white Jeep. Harris County deputy constables arrested him about an hour later at the Katy Freeway and the West Belt.

Sources said the young man pulled over after his father convinced him to surrender.

A Precinct 5 deputy constable stopped, thinking the suspect was just a stranded motorist. But when he approached the Jeep, the young man asked what he needed to do to turn himself in.

Police said Shank had been receiving treatment for mental health issues and had seen a professional counselor Wednesday morning.

“I knew the kid was having problems. He got up on the roof a week or two ago, couldn’t get him down,” neighbor Howard Smith said.

Neighbors said Shank had recently dropped out of the University of Texas.

He played lacrosse at UT and Houston’s Kinkaid School, where he graduated in 2008. Classmates from Kincaid describe him as a well-liked student who had a lot of friends.

Nancy Shank did charity work in Houston and was a regular at Bible study, according to a neighbor. She is also survived by her husband, Daniel, and their daughter, a freshman at UT.

(via khou.com)