A man has been charged with murder after allegedly fatally shooting his mum and then dancing next to her body with his sister.
Police say Mike Lopez, 23, shot and killed his mother at their dinner table in Springville, Utah, US, on December 23.
Victoria Ramirez, 43, is said to have told her son “I know you’re going to kill me, and I love you” before Lopez shot her.
The suspected murder took place after Lopez walked into the dining room where Ramirez was with his two sisters, ages 14 and 17, reports say.
They were all sat at the dining room table when Lopez allegedly pointed a shotgun at his mum.
A police affidavit says: “Mike turned towards his 14-year-old sister and they gave each other a head nod.
“The 14-year-old then locked herself in an adjacent bathroom while the 17-year-old remained outside the door.”
Ramirez suffered injuries to her neck and face and died almost instantly, according to police.
The alleged killer's 14-year-old sister then left the bathroom and stroked her mother’s hair before Lopez grabbed her arm and the two started dancing next to her body, the charges allege.
She later ran from the house to call another relative and police, according to local media.
When police arrived, they reportedly found Lopez lying in a filled bathtub with a shotgun leaning against the tub.
Officers arrested Lopez and took him to the Utah County Jail.
Lopez is also accused of domestic violence in the presence of a child and possession of a weapon by a restricted person.
He started to cry as he was booked into prison and it was explained to him that he was being held over the murder of his mother.
It is alleged he then told the officer: “Someone told me to do it."
Police say Lopez had THC in his system at the time of his arrest.
His 17-year-old sister told police she believed Lopez was providing marijuana to her 14-year-old sibling - and that the sister knew what was going to happen, the affidavit says.
“She stated Mike has been acting really strange lately where he has been meditating a lot where he claims to go to different dimensions and talking about a lot of bad people,” according to the affidavit.
The charging documents claim that the sister said Lopez purchased a shotgun and a handgun the day before he shot their mother, according to The Deseret News.
The 14-year-old sister was quizzed by police, who then noted in their documents that she “was acting very strange”.
The paper reports she told detectives she and Lopez “have been together a lot lately and they take turns sleeping so they can watch over one another".
The girl claimed it was not her mother who was shot and smiled when asked about dancing with her brother after the shooting, the affidavit states.
It added that she began “to recite the song” and “did not show any emotion” during the police interview.
