Kottayam: A domestic argument turned fatal for a 46-year-old woman after she was hacked to death by her son. Police said the 26-year-old man was a drug addict.

The victim, identified as Sindhu, was cooking inside her house in a village near Pallikkathodu when her son, Aravind, hacked her to death on Thursday night.

Sindhu used to sell lottery tickets to support her family. Aravind, a former JCB driver, had allegedly been struggling with drug addiction and was undergoing treatment, police said.

The mother and son were at home at the time. They began arguing while Sindhu was preparing food. Aravind then attacked her with a sharp weapon, killing her on the spot, police said.

Neighbours, hearing the noise, rushed over and found Aravind sitting beside his mother's body. Police arrested him at the scene. Sindhu's younger son is a student living in Alappuzha.