Las Vegas Man Accused Of Strangling His Own Mother

A Las Vegas man is being sought by authorities who say that he may have strangled his own mother. The lifeless body of 62-year-old Francine Dinunzio was found in her home on Thursday after authorities with the LVMPD performed a welfare check. Fox 5 Vegas reports that her 36-year-old son is the sole person of interest in the slaying.

The Review Journal reports that 36-year-old David Dinunzio had made disturbing comments to friends and family the morning of the gruesome discovery. Witnesses say that he called them saying he “did something to mom.” The series of calls caused loved ones to call the police. When police performed a welfare check based on the calls, they found that she had been strangled to death.

LVMPD Lt. Dan McGrath revealed that Dinunzio had a lengthy criminal history, which included charges of domestic violence. His mother had also sought a restraining order against him at one point, but had gone ahead and brought him back into her home shortly before her murder.

“We’re hearing that she wanted him back out again. It’s shocking that somebody would do that to their own mother.”

David Dinunzio still has not been apprehended, and authorities are looking for him. Anyone who may have information about his possible whereabouts is encouraged to contact the LVMPD.

The act of killing one’s own mother is called matricide, and it’s shockingly common. However, the act of killing one’s father — or patricide — is far more common. Psychology Today reports that matricide and patricide cases are on the rise by a whopping 13 percent between the years 1980 and 2008. That increase is illustrated in various media reports that have been published over the past several years.

Earlier this year, the Inquisitr reported that an Alabama man murdered his own mother after a “prolonged argument” about his slipping grades. The woman died of blunt force trauma after she was beaten to death. Also this year, a childhood friend of actor/rapper Mark Wahlberg allegedly murdered his own mother.

Men aren’t the only people who have killed their mothers. Teenage girls have been arrested for these grisly acts as well. Notorious inmate Tess Damm helped her boyfriend stab her mother at least 18 times several years ago. She later became caught up in a plot to murder a prison guard with a shoelace in an escape attempt, which failed. In 2003, a teenager by the name of Sarah Johnson murdered both her mother and her father by shooting them with a shotgun. The Idaho teen was reportedly angry at their attempts to come between her and her older boyfriend.

[Photo: Las Vegas Metro Police mugshot]