A Linn County Grand Jury returned an indictment last week against Josh Lee Shaddon, 31, of Brownsville, who is accused of murdering his mother, Gerlene A. Thorne.

Shaddon, who has lived in the Sweet Home and Crawfordsville areas in the past, was arrested on the afternoon of Oct. 23 after Linn County 9-1-1 Dispatch Center received an emergency call that a woman had been shot by her son, who had fled the residence in a vehicle with three children.

Deputies stopped Shaddon’s vehicle and arrested him. The children were unharmed and returned to their mothers.

An autopsy indicated that Thorne, 48, died of stab wounds and had not been shot, Sheriff Tim Mueller said.

The Grand Jury also indicted Shaddon on one count of attempted murder. The alleged victim of the attempted murder was Shaddon’s step-father, Michael Thorne, 53.

Mueller said that Sheriff’s investigators determined that while target practicing with his father-in-law in Linn County, Shaddon allegedly pointed a firearm at his step-father and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire. The incident was not reported to law enforcement prior to the death of Gerlene Thorne, Mueller said.

Shaddon is being held at the Linn County Jail.

Sweet Home police last had contact with Shaddon in May, Chief Bob Burford said. Shaddon received a traffic citation and gave police a 29th Avenue address.