ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Maryland state medical examiner's office confirmed Wednesday that human remains found in a wooded area are those of missing 11-year-old boy William McQuain.

The remains were found Tuesday morning in a wooded area near Clarksburg, Md., about 27 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Authorities believe that the remains had been in that location since Oct. 1, when William was last seen alive.

The body of the boy's mother, Jane McQuain, was found Oct. 12 at her apartment in Germantown, Md., 30 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., after an acquaintance told police she had not been seen for two weeks.

The Montgomery County chief medical examiner said that McQuain, 51, died of blunt force trauma and stab wounds.

Police later issued an Amber Alert for William. Their search for the boy uncovered surveillance video showing William and his mother's estranged husband, Curtis Lopez, entering a storage facility unit and visiting a gas station Oct. 1.

Lopez subsequently was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Jane McQuain's death. He is in custody in North Carolina, where he was arrested on the strength of a Maryland warrant.

Lopez, who is not fighting extradition, will be brought back to Maryland on an unspecified date, Montgomery County police chief Tom Manger said.

Lopez previously was convicted in Pennsylvania of attempted murder, myFOXdc.com reported. He served 13 years in prison there before being released in 2000.

State Attorney John McCarthy said his office will consider seeking the death penalty because of the "magnitude" of the murders of the mother and son. But McCarthy noted that Maryland law sets a very high bar for capital punishment cases, including specific requirements for scientific evidence.

At this time, Lopez has been charged only with the murder of Jane McQuain.