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Son charged in death of missing Bronx woman, NYPD says

A man has been charged in the death of his mother after her body was found in a wooded area in upper Manhattan last weekend, several days after she disappeared, police said.

Joseph Garcia, 31, of Brooklyn, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Joan Viau, according to the NYPD.

Viau, 52, was last seen outside of her home on Carlisle Place in Williamsbridge on Jan. 23, police said. She was set to go to the Veterans Affairs hospital with her son, but never returned home. Viau’s boyfriend reported her missing on Wednesday, police said.

Before Viau’s body was discovered, cops had taken Garcia into custody and charged him with grand larceny for use of his mother’s credit cards, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Viau’s vehicle had been found with blood marks inside, a law enforcement source said.

Her body was discovered on Saturday afternoon in the woods near West 187th Street and Chittenden Avenue, police said, a spot close to Fort Tyron Park above the George Washington Bridge.

An emailed request for Viau’s cause of death was not immediately returned by the city medical examiner’s office.

-With Jillian Jorgensen