PIERRE, S.D. – A man arrested after a South Dakota chase in which authorities say his mother's body was found in the SUV he was driving is now charged with murder in California.
Court records show 30-year-old Tosten Walsh Lommen was charged Monday in Riverside County in the death of his mother, 58-year-old Michelle Walsh.
The Rapid City Journal in South Dakota reports that authorities allege Lommen killed his mother sometime around Dec. 30. Investigators believe both were living in Walsh's home in Palm Springs, California.
Authorities say South Dakota troopers discovered Walsh's body in the back of the sport utility vehicle that Lommen was driving after he was arrested following a Jan. 1 chase on Interstate 90. He remains jailed in South Dakota on charges of eluding authorities and drunken driving.
California authorities plan to seek Lommen's extradition. It's unclear if he has an attorney who could comment.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
