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Man accused of killing mother arrested in Belmont Walmart

BELMONT, N.C. — A man on the run after police say he killed his mother will appear in a Gaston County courtroom Wednesday on fugitive charges.

Matthew McAveeney is accused of beating his mother to death in Massachusetts and is facing first-degree murder charges in that state.

Police arrested him at the Walmart in Belmont Tuesday after authorities in Massachusetts tracked his credit card use. Authorities think he may have been heading to Abbyville, S.C., about two hours away.
 
McAveeney had been on the run since last week when officers found his 70-year-old mother's body in the apartment they shared outside Boston. Investigators said her body was left in the apartment for at least two weeks.

Lt. Basil Marett received the call to check the Walmart in Belmont and minutes after he arrived he saw McAveeney in the parking lot, pushing a shopping cart with cinder blocks inside.

That's when he and a few other officers pulled their guns and approached him.

"You could tell he was agitated. [He] wasn't following out commands. We were telling him to put his hands up, stop, let us see your hands," said Lt. Marett.

Officers said McAveeney resisted arrest and a gash over his eye could be seen on his mug shot.

Police have not said when McAveeney will be brought back to Massachusetts.

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