Illinois Man Allegedly Killed His 72-Year-Old Mom Before Attempting to Blow Up Her House By Escher Walcott

An Illinois man is facing murder charges after allegedly killing his mother and attempting to conceal the incident with a house fire.

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, David Nguyen was charged with “one count of murder/intent to kill/injure and one count of concealment of homicidal death” in connection with the death of Terrie Nguyen, the O’Fallon Police Department (OPD) said in a news release shared on Facebook

Terrie, 72, was found dead when police visited her home in the 1300 block of Bossler Lane in O’Fallon for a well-being check at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Dec. 27. She was determined to have died in suspicious circumstances as a result of violence.

Having been identified as “a person of interest” in her death, David, 38, attempted to flee the state, but crashed his car while being pursued by police.

“Efforts to locate him were immediately initiated. At approximately 4:30 p.m. that same day, the Missouri State Highway Patrol located David traveling westbound on Interstate 70 near Concordia, Miss.,” said the OPD. “David attempted to flee from troopers but was taken into custody following a crash on I-70 at mile marker 51.”

David was sent to a local hospital for treatment and charged with felony fleeing. He was then released into the custody of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department, said police.

He was formally charged on Wednesday. In documents filed by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois, David is accused of suffocating his mother to death as he “struck Terrie Nguyen about the face and placed plastic wrap over her nose and mouth,” per the Belleville News-Democrat.

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David then allegedly attempted to hide his mother’s body “by activating unlit gas burners on a stove to fill the house with gas and left a lit candle inside the house with the intent to cause an explosion.”

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He now remains in custody at the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department pending extradition to St. Clair County, Ill.     

Terri reportedly worked at a nail salon in Collinsville. Tributes have been shared in her honor by customers on social media, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.

“We would like to to extend our most sincere gratitude to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and all assisting Missouri agencies for their swift and professional cooperation, which enabled an efficient resolution to this investigation,” said the OPD, following David’s arrest.

PEOPLE has contacted the OPD for further comment.