Family and neighbours are reeling after Peel region police charged a Brampton man with second-degree murder hours after his mother's lifeless body was found in the family home.

"I don't know what my life is going to be now without her, because we very close," said Goretti Aguiar, the victim's sister.

Neighbour Elwood McKenna told CTV Toronto on Tuesday that 59-year-old Fatima Lima lived for her two sons. One of the two is developmentally challenged and lived with his parents.

"Very good to the community. Very good to the comunity," he said of the Lima family.

Durham police arrested 28-year-old Justin Lima while he was driving through Pickering at around 7 p.m. on Monday.

"I couldn't believe it. I've been shaking since then," said Ofelia Maiato, another neighbour, about hearing the news of the crime and the arrest.

A relative found the body of Lima just before 4 p.m. on Monday. She suffered "obvious signs of trauma," a police spokesperson told ctvtoronto.ca.

"When I was coming home from work, I saw the husband outside and he was actually frantic, he was screaming up and down," said Maria Mello.

The home on Cornwall Road is located in a quiet, residential community near Kennedy Road and Queen Street.

Hours before they arrested Justin, Peel police sent out an alert with details of a suspect and a vehicle wanted in connection with the murder. Investigators allege the suspect left the scene in a red minivan but then dumped the vehicle near Port Hope. They say another vehicle was car-jacked near Highway 401 at around the same time.

Family members gathered outside the woman's home in disbelief.

Fatima Lima's niece told CTV Toronto that the woman was the joy in the family.

"My aunt was a very happy-go-lucky person ... the character of the family," said Sonia Aguiar.

She confirmed that the victim was the mother of two grown sons.

The suspect reportedly battled depression for years, said family members. He married last year, with his parents buying him a home as a wedding presdent. His wife recently gave birth to a baby girl and is expecting a second child.

Relatives say Justin was laid off from his job at an auto parts plant on Friday.

"He was having a stressful time and he's battling with something internally, something personal," Sonia Aguiar said.

Fatima Lima is Peel region's fifth homicide victim of the year.

Justin Lima appeared in a Brampton court on Tuesday and has been ordered held pending a bail hearing.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin