Son Charged in Mother's South Side Murder

Earnest McGhee, 34, of the 1500 block of East 74th Street, faces one count of first-degree murder, police said

Prosecutors said Earnest McGhee called for a well-being check to cover his tracks after he shot his mother during an argument. Sharon Wright reports.

Prosecutors say a Chicago man called for a well-being check on his mother to throw them off-track after shooting her to death following an argument.

Ernest McGhee, 34, of the 1500 block of East 74th Street, was charged Friday with one count of first-degree murder. He said in a confession that his mother was a nag and was driving him crazy--and that he snapped, police said.

"This defendant admitted that he had been involved with an argument with his mother, and that he shot his mother several times," said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Jamie Santini.

His mother, Aletha McGhee, 62, was found just after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 9000 block of South Dobson Avenue in Chicago's Burnside Neighborhood.

"The officers walked down into the basement and found Aletha McGee sitting in a recliner," said Santini. "Miss McGee was unresponsive and had been shot six times including two close range gunshot wounds to the head."

Santini said the woman's car was found near her son's house with a .357 revolver in the trunk.

The death left at least one neighbor speechless.

"There's no words," said Valerie Barnes. "It's sad. It's just no words."

In an apparently separate murder, Donald Ellens, 75, was found moments earlier, fatally stabbed blocks away in the 9000 block of South East End Avenue.

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