NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A woman was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of her 92-year-old mother, according to the Newport News Police Department.

On April 18, police responded to a welfare check at the request of an out-of-town relative at the 1200 block of Hampton Avenue.

A search warrant for the residence was obtained and upon execution of the warrant, officers found a 92-year-old woman who had died.

The daughter of the woman, Zelia Spruce, 74, was subsequently arrested Tuesday and charged with prohibition against concealment of a dead body, forging public records and obtaining documents from the DMV when not entitled.

Residents on Hampton Avenue say the situation is disturbing, noting that they’ve always wondered about the behavior of the mother and daughter that lived nearby.

“It’s scary, it’s just scary,” resident Alphonso Bell said.

Bell has lived on Hampton Avenue for years and is close with just about everyone on the street except the residents who live across the street. He said when he first moved in, he would often see an elderly woman sitting on the porch, but then he saw her less and less until he didn’t see her at all.

“I noticed the mother wasn’t coming outside too much, I haven’t seen her in over two years,” Bell said.

Another neighbor, Renee Young, also became curious. All she knew is that the elderly woman lived here with her daughter.

“Very strange acting lady, never spoke to anybody, so I’m not surprised,” Young said. “I thought the woman was in a nursing home. I guess once the mom was gone, she was still spending checks, getting the lights on, groceries.”

Neighbors say past welfare checks were unsuccessful.

“They’ve been coming through here for a while, major crimes (unit), but the daughter wouldn’t let no one in the house,” Bell said, “She convinced me that her mother was OK, but her mother was deceased the whole time.”

While the cause of death has not been confirmed, it is currently being investigated as a death investigation.