A student "snapped" and beat his mother to death with a baseball bat during a row over his bad college grades, it has emerged.
Tyler Blansit, a 22-year-old from Alabama in the US, admitted to killing his mother, 45-year-old Sherry Ann.
Sheriffs were called to Sherry Ann's home and discovered the "brutal" crime scene on Friday, AL.com reports.
Blansit was a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and said the argument was over his bad grades.
The baseball bat has been taken for forensics testing, along with several other items.
Blansit's father was at work when the murder happened, according to police.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris told MyFoxAl: "Usually we'll have calls where a parent has whipped a child because of grades, a child has run away because of bad grades, but we've never had anything like this happen.
"It's just one of those things you can't explain; we'll never be able to explain what went through his mind, why he snapped and did this.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends during this tragic time."