Suffolk County police say a man stabbed his mother to death in their Brentwood home Tuesday evening.

Officers responded to 55 W. White St. just before 5:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call.

Investigators identified the victim as Melida Velasquez, 59. They discovered her body inside her home with stab wounds.

Detectives say they have charged her son, Jason S. Kurumoglu, 30, with murder in the second degree.

At his arraignment on Thursday, Kurumoglu entered a plea of not guilty.

The prosecutor said that a downstairs neighbor heard screaming, then heard the victim repeatedly say, in apparent distress, "God help me."

The neighbor then heard a thump.

The prosecutor said when officers arrived at the home, Kurumoglu stepped around his mom's body like he was taking a walk thorough "a park."

No motive has been given.

"He’s presumed innocent. He entered his denial of the charges. That says that he is not accepting responsibility because as of right now he is innocent, and I want everybody to remember that," said the defendant’s attorney, Pete Mayer.

People who knew Velasquez were brought to tears as word of her death spread throughout the community.

"They found her upstairs with knives, a bunch of knives sticking out of her and she's dead," Brentwood resident Sarai Bonilla said. "She just came back from El Salvador last week. I wish I had come to see her or something. It just reminds you to say I love you."

"She was a good person," another Brentwood resident said. "Family-oriented and everything. Everybody knew her."