A Tioga County man has been charged with murder after his mother's body was discovered in her Town of Owego home.

Authorities say 33-year-old James Kvassay was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at his mother's residence at 2230 Day Hollow Road.

Sheriff's deputies and state troopers were sent to the home of 78-year-old Phyllis Kvassay to check on her welfare.

Captain Shawn Nalepa of the Tioga County Sheriff's Office said the woman's body was found in a stairwell area near the entrance to the house.

Nalepa said James Kvassay was detained after he was discovered upstairs in the residence.

An autopsy performed Wednesday at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton determined the cause of Phyllis Kvassay's death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Nalepa said investigators discovered a table leg that likely had been used to strike the woman multiple times. He said it's believed she had been killed the previous day.

Kvassay was arraigned and sent to Tioga County Jail without bail.

According to the sheriff's office, Kvassay had been arrested last Friday night after an investigation into an alleged violation of an order of protection that had been issued at the request of his mother. He was charged with criminal contempt, arraigned and released on his own recognizance. He had been ordered to appear in Owego town court on Tuesday.

In November 2021, WNBF News reported Kvassay had been charged with felony arson for allegedly setting a fire at a home on Foster Street in Endwell. Although the house sustained significant damage, there apparently were no injuries as a result of the blaze.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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