Police said Sunday they have sought an arrest warrant for a man in his 40s on charges of murdering his stepmother and discarding her body in a reed field near his father's home.

The man allegedly strangled his stepmother, identified only by her surname Lee, who was in her 70s, to death at her home in Seoul during an altercation on Oct. 19 after he demanded that she give him money she earned from part-time work.

Two days later, the day laborer buried his stepmother's body in a reed field near the home of his late father, who had remarried with Lee about 30 years ago, in Yecheon County, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police.

The case came to light when a civil servant handling welfare issues informed the police of Lee's disappearance. The civil servant visited Lee's home after receiving a request from one of Lee's neighbors, who reported excessive barking from a dog and asked the official to check Lee's home.

The police said 300,000 won (US$230) had been withdrawn from Lee's bank account, and Lee's mobile phone had been turned off in Yecheon, a day after the murder occurred.

The police said they found Lee's body buried in the reed field on Saturday, a day after nabbing the suspect at a motel in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Seoul Southern District Court will decide later in the day whether to issue the arrest warrant for the suspect. (Yonhap)