SEATTLE -- Police arrested a Black Diamond man Wednesday night after his 88-year-old mother's emaciated body was found in their home the previous day.

King County sheriff's detectives were called to a home in the 27400 block of Southeast Green River Gorge on Tuesday at about 1 a.m. after a man reported his mother had died, Sgt. John Urquhart said.

Deputies found the body of the 88-year-old woman in her bed. Police said she was severely emaciated, weighed about 70 pounds and had severe open bed sores and bruising.

The son told police that his mother had not been taking any medications and had not seen a doctor in at least two years.

“The condition that she was in, clearly she needed medical help. She needed to be seen by a doctor, probably needed medicine, that sort of thing, and this was not being provided and he was the one who had the responsibility for doing that," Urquhart said.

The Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit responded at the home to conduct an investigation.

The 41-year-old son lived downstairs and his mother lived in a room on the top floor. They were the only two people who lived in the home.

The victim's son was interviewed by police a second time Wednesday night and then booked into the King County Jail on charges of homicide by abuse.

Urquhart said the man could have been arrested for investigation of manslaughter, but the negligence was so severe that he was arrested for investigation of homicide by abuse.

An autopsy on the woman's body was conducted by the medical examiner Wednesday. The official cause of death has not been released.