Earnest McGee stood in front of his mother’s home on a quiet South Side block earlier this week as Chicago police evidence technicians in blue suits went about their business.

Aletha McGee, 62, had been found fatally shot in the basement of the modest, single-family house hours earlier.

Her son, a bulky, broad-shouldered man, said he called the police Tuesday night when he was locked out of the house and hadn’t heard from his mother in a few days.

“I'm beyond baffled. ... My mom is gone,” McGee, sullen but calm, told a Tribune reporter. “Your mom is always going to be your best friend.”