LE MARS, Iowa (AP) – A judge ruled that statements made by a man charged with killing his mother can’t be used as evidence. The Sioux City Journal reports District Judge Steven Andreasen ruled Thursday that statements made by Jonathan Neunaber were inadmissible at trial.

Neunaber, of Akron, is charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of his 80-year-old mother, Esther Neunaber. Her body and the body of her husband Donald Neunaber were found in the home they shared with their son. Donald Neunaber died of natural causes.

Jonathan Neunaber has pleaded not guilty. The judge ruled that because Neunaber repeatedly declined to answer questions, the interview should have been stopped. Andreasen didn’t rule on a request that evidence collected after those statements not be allowed at trial. A trial date isn’t scheduled.