Viewer warning: The details in this case are considered graphic. 

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WHLT) – A trial is underway for the Wiggins man charged in the brutal killing of his mother in 2018.

WXXV reported Terelle Johnson was arrested in 2018. He was charged with the murder of his mother, 51-year-old Sherry Johnson, who was a guidance counselor at Hattiesburg High School.

According to investigators, Johnson beat and choked his mother to death. They said he used a butter knife, his hands and his teeth to decapitate her.

The Stone County Sheriff’s Department went to the Johnson home on June 6, 2018, to do a welfare check after family members called authorities concerned they had not heard from Sherry Johnson since June 3.

Authorities located her body in the backyard of the home. Investigators said her body was by a tree, and her head was found over a fence.

Johnson allegedly told authorities that he and his mother had argued over credit cards and that a fight ensued and ended with Johnson choking his mother until she stopped moving.

Jim Davis, Johnson’s attorney, said his client was insane when he committed the crime. Prosecutors said he was under the influence of drugs and that he did know what he was doing when the crime happened.