A Volusia County teenager is accused of strangling his mother and then burying her body under a fire pit at a church in DeBary, deputies said.
Officials with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said 15-year-old Gregory Ramos confessed to killing 46-year-old Gail Cleavenger by strangling her at the family’s home on Alicante Road late Thursday.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the murder appears to have stemmed from an argument the boy had with his mother over grades on Thursday night.
Deputies said he then used a wheelbarrow to load her into her van and buried her beneath a fire pit at River City Church on East Highbanks Road early Friday.
Ramos told detectives he enlisted the help of two friends to stage a burglary scene at the family’s house.
Both friends, who are also juveniles, are in custody and facing charges, deputies said.
Ramos reported the burglary to deputies on Friday afternoon and said his mom was missing and her van was still running in the driveway.
Deputies said he later confessed to the murder of his mother and implicated his friends.
Deputies said they recovered items removed from the home during the staged burglary and found Cleavenger’s body early Saturday morning.
Chitwood told reporters Ramos is one of the “top three sociopaths” he has ever encountered, according to ClickOrlando.com.
“To watch how cold and callous and calculating he was, I think was probably the most shocking thing for all of us,” Chitwood said. “No sign of remorse whatsoever.”
A detective who interviewed Ramos said he was “very cold, calculated and very proud of what he did,” according to the website.
The sheriff is recommending he be tried as an adult.
