LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WFXG) - Authorities have charged a Columbia man with murder in the death of his mother, Regina Arroyo, who was from Barnwell.

An arrest warrant confirms Terry Lee Self, Jr. is charged with murder. Self is accused of killing his mother last December.

Arroyo's body was found by a canoer in the Edisto River on December 3, according to Lexington County authorities.

"Detectives confirmed the suspect and his mother were at the suspect's house and left there together after an argument," Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

Sheriff Koon confirmed the evidence in the case shows the suspect used a ligature to strangle Arroyo.

"After he killed Ms. Arroyo, Self then dumped her body in the river and left," Sheriff Koon said.

Lexington County authorities said detectives have been working on the missing persons case for seven months, attempting to find the person responsible for Arroyo's death.

"We hope to give her family members and loved ones some sense of closure," Sheriff Koon said.

Self is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County on a charge unrelated to this case.

Lexington County investigators charged Self Monday, July 1, bringing him before a magistrate who denied him bond.

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