SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Investigators say a man coming home to see his mother for the holidays found her dead in her Summerville home.

Dorchester County sheriff's deputies say the son found 61-year-old Lynda Pages slumped on the couch in the living room Thursday night, a puddle of blood at her feet.

Investigators say a shell casing was found in the home.

Authorities say the son last talked to his mother around 9 p.m. Wednesday when she told him a relative had arrived for Christmas. A neighbor told deputies they heard a loud boom about an hour later.