Man allegedly cuts up mom, stuffs her body parts in freezer

MAYWOOD, Calif. — A Southern California teenager who told police he butchered his mother and put her cut-up parts in their freezer is being held without bail.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators say Moises Meraz-Espinoza, 18, of Maywood walked into the nearby Huntington Park police station Saturday and confessed to an officer, NBC station KNBC reported.

The Sheriff's Department, which provides police services to Maywood, confirmed dismembered body parts were found in the freezer at the apartment that neighbors said Meraz-Espinoza shared with his mother.

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Meraz-Espinoza was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held without bail.

Family and neighbors said Meraz-Espinoza had been depressed and was acting strangely since his girlfriend was fatally struck by a car four months ago, TV station KTLA said.

"He was very quiet ... he was a nice guy, but he was hanging around with the wrong people ... like his girlfriend died and he started going crazy," said Joe Perez, a neighbor, told KTLA.

Neighbors told KTLA that they hadn't heard from Meraz-Espinoza's mother since Monday.