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Waterbury Teen Accused Of Killing Mom After Fight Over Car

WATERBURY, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- A 17-year-old Catholic high school student is accused of killing his mother after an argument over the use of her car.

Kacy Austin, 44, was found strangled in the second-floor bedroom of her home in a quiet neighborhood in Waterbury, police said.

Elijah Johnson, 17, was charged with murder Sunday after DNA evidence matched him to evidence taken from the fingernails of his mother, police said.

Police believe Austin strangled his mother on the morning of Jan. 21 after she refused to let him use her car. He then drove the car to Sacred Heart High School but returned home at around 11 a.m. after an early dismissal, Acting Deputy Chief Christopher Corbett told the Hartford Courant.

Johnson then called 911 to report finding his mother dead in the home, police said.

A break in the case came weeks later when a psychologist called police over the weekend and said Johnson's father told him his son had confessed to accidentally killing his mother, the Courant reported.

Johnson's father had hired the psychologist to counsel his son after he allegedly admitted to killing his mother, Corbett said.

Johnson is being tried as an adult and is being held on $1 million bail. His next court date is scheduled for March 26 at Superior Court in Waterbury.

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