Man accused of beheading mother with sword

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin man is being held in a mental health facility after being charged with beheading his mother with a sword because he thought she was not his real mother, court records showed.

Matthew Skalitzky, 40, was charged with first-degree initial homicide on Monday in Dane County Circuit Court for the Sept. 11 attack on his 68-year-old mother in Sun Prairie, the complaint against him said. Sun Prairie is 15 miles northeast of Wisconsin's capital, Madison.

Skalitzky, who faces life in prison if convicted, is being held at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute on a $1 million bond.

Skalitzky spent the night at his parent's apartment on Sept. 10 before his mother drove him the next morning to his apartment, where he used a 4-foot sword to decapitate her, the complaint said.

Skalitzky told investigators that he thought she was not his real mother and his father later told them that Skalitzky acted anxious and agitated earlier in the day, according to the complaint.

A lawyer was not listed for Skalitzky on the state's online court database.