The son of the "Tarzan" actor, Ron Ely, stabbed his mother to death on Tuesday evening and was subsequently killed by police. Ron Ely was not injured.

Valerie Lundeen Ely died from stab wounds at the age of 62 inside her home in Hope Ranch, a suburb of Santa Barbara, California. She had shared the home with her husband, Ron Ely.

Police received a 911 call at 8:15 am, about a family disturbance at the home. When Deputies arrived on the crime scene, they found Valerie's body and identified the couple's 30-year-old son Cameron Ely as a suspect of the murder. Sheriff's Deputies went on a detailed search of the property and found Cameron outside the house, where he was shot by four deputies after posing a threat.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office on Wednesday said, "He (Cameron) posed a threat and in response, 4 deputies fired their service weapons at the suspect, fatally wounding him." Cameron was one of Ely's three children. The deputies were not injured in the confrontation.

Police have listed Valerie's death as a case of homicide. The autopsies of "both the victim and the suspect" are being conducted. Further investigation in the matter is underway, reports USA Today.

It's an unfortunate, tragic incident out here, and now starts the long process of investigating exactly what happened," Lt. Erik Raney told local TV station KEYT.

Crime scene tape
A representational image of a crime scene. (Pixabay)

The 81-year-old actor has not reacted to the incident yet. He has been taken to a hospital but has refused to comment on his condition. In 2014, the "Tarzan" actor had said in an interview that he had taken a break for more than a decade from acting to spend time raising his family.

The actor was the star of "Tarzan," which aired 57 episodes on NBC from 1966 to 1968. He also acted in other television shows, including "The Aquanauts" and later, "Fantasy Island." Ely's most recent acting stint was in 2014 when he appeared in the Lifetime drama "Expecting Amish" opposite Jesse McCartney, Disney Channel alums Alyson Stoner and AJ Michalka.