A teenager has been charged with first-degree murder after decapitating his mother with a large knife, according to police in North Carolina.

Eighteen-year-old Oliver Mauricio Funes Machada was arrested after he called the police and walked out of the family home carrying his mother's head in one hand and a large weapon in the other.

Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead described the crime as a "gruesome scene".

The body of 35-year-old Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado was found inside the house.

Two young girls who were also inside were unharmed, while a fourth child was said to be at school. Ms Machado's husband was at work at the time of the attack.

Funes Machada is expected to undergo extensive psychiatric evaluation.

On Tuesday he appeared at a preliminary hearing and according to court documents cited by local media, he is taking four different medications for psychosis and schizophrenia.

Authorities also revealed that he is in the US illegally and is originally from Honduras.