Austin Police are calling a little boy a hero for his role in helping capture his mother's killer. Mel Cotton, 30, was found dead in her Woodland Heights Apartment on Monday.

Investigators said the child gave them key information that led to the arrest of 31-year-old Milton Dwayne Gobert.

Cotton was stabbed to death. Her 5-year-old son was also brutally attacked. The little boy is now in stable condition at Brackenridge Hospital.

"For although he was brutallyassaulted and left for dead, he struggled to remain alive during the early morning hours and his spirit and his strength allowed him, after treatment, to assist in the arrest of his mother's murderer," Austin Police Chief Stan Knee said.

Police arrested Gobert Tuesday on a parole violation. Police said he admitted he stabbed the woman and attacked the child.

Murder charges are pending.

Police believe Cotton was stabbed to death because she helped the suspect's girlfriend move away from him and get out of the relationship.