Facebook/Gail Cleavenger
Gregory Logan Ramos, a 15-year-old boy from Florida, strangled his mother over a D grade he got in school and then buried her body in the fire pit of a local church, cops said. Police have said that Ramos admitted to killing his mother, Gail Cleavenger, 46, on Alicante Road in the town of Debray in the very early hours of November 2.
Authorities say that Ramos then took his mother’s body in a wheelbarrow to River City Church on East Highbanks Road, where he buried her body. With the help of two 17-year-old friends, Ramos then staged a robbery scene at his home. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that it took Ramos around 30 minutes to kill his mother after she survived the initial strangulation attempt.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Sheriff Said That Ramos Described a Fake Phone Call He Made to Police as ‘Grammy Winning’
Facebook/Rhodes+Brito Architects
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that Ramos initially told investigators that when he returned home from school on November 2, his mother was missing. Ramos said that Cleavenger’s car was still running in the driveway. Officials say that after questioning, Ramos confessed to killing his mother. Sheriff Chitwood told the media, “Just the whole scenario, the whole thing, the crime scene, when you start interviewing the kid — things were just not adding up. Things were missed from the very beginning.” Police say that Ramos killed his mother in the very early hours of November 2.
The sheriff says that Ramos described the phone call he made to authorities about the alleged break-in as “Grammy-winning.” Among the things that the sheriff described as “not adding-up” was that Cleavenger did not show up for work on the morning of November 2.
Screengrab via WKMG
Sheriff Chitwood described Ramos as a “soulless individual who thought he was gonna outsmart everyone in the room.” The sheriff said that Ramos was “cold and calculated” in his confession. The sheriff paid tribute to Cleavenger on Twitter writing, “The deputies and detectives who worked through the night and into the morning gave this case absolutely everything they had, and I hope the family knows that Gail has all of us fighting for justice for her. God bless Gail Cleavenger and all who knew and loved her.”
2. The Sheriff Said that Ramos Attacked His Mother While She Was Sleeping
Facebook/Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the media that the fight between Ramos and his mother began in an argument over his grades. Sheriff Chitwood said that Ramos had been “motivated by rage.” The sheriff said that Ramos had received a D in a class, which sparked the fight. Cleavenger had apparently called Ramos’ father, who was in Seattle on business, after the initial argument. At 11:00 p.m., Cleavenger went to bed, Sheriff Chitwood said Ramos entered her room at around 12:30 a.m. Chitwood said, “He went into her room and woke her up and began strangling her and strangled her till he killed her.”
The sheriff went on to describe the incident as “one of the most disturbing and saddest I’ve seen in my career.”
The Sheriff’s statement said that deputies found that electronics and a rifle were missing from Cleavenger’s home. Those items, including a PlayStation 4, were recovered nearby having been buried. In addition, investigators found a shovel and broom which were “used to bury Cleavenger and straighten up the scene around the fire pit,” A sheriff’s office spokesman, Andrew Gant told the Orlando Sentinel.
3. Gail Cleavenger Wrote on Dating Profile that She Was ‘Raising a Happy Child’
Cleavenger pictured with her husband Daniel Cleavenger Facebook/Gail Cleavenger
On a 2008 dating profile, Cleavenger wrote in the bio section, “I am an Architect. Catholic. Currently interested in raising a happy child.” According to her LinkedIn page, Cleavenger was an architect who worked for various firms across central Florida. Cleavenger studied architecture at the University of Miami, graduating in 1995, as well as studying International Studies at the Glasgow School of Art, Mackintosh School of Architecture. On her Pinterest page, Cleavenger went by the moniker “ArchitectMomma.”
In paying tribute to Cleavenger, her friend Dawn Marie wrote on Facebook, “MY DEAREST And BEST FRIEND. She was too kind, almost to a fault. She was a loving Wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, citizen, brilliant architect. I will miss her beautiful smile. It was blessing to know her these 10+ years.”
4. Both Ramos & His Mother Were Martial Arts Practitioners
Social media posts and videos indicate that both Ramos and his mother were martial arts practitioners. Katie Eisenberg posted a Facebook post in the wake of Cleavenger’s death showing just prior to her black belt concrete break. Cleavenger’s black belt makes reference to Philippians 4:13, a Bible passage that reads, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
5. Ramos’ Friends Dylan Ceglarek & Brian Porras Led Authorities to Cleavenger’s Body
Volusia County Sheriff\’s Department
Authorities say that Ramos enlisted two of his friends, Dylan Ceglarek and Brian Porras, both 17, to assist in burying Cleavenger’s body and staging the robbery scene. Both Ceglarek and Porras have been charged with being accessory to murder. The sheriff said that it was Ceglarek and Porras who led authorities to Cleavenger’s body as well as the items that were falsely reported to have been stolen from Ramos’ home. The three suspects are all students at University High School.
Volusia County Sheriff\’s Department
A neighbor, Ryan Ward, told the Daytona News Journal, “They seemed like nice, normal people and there was nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve seen (Ramos) out here with his friends but they were never doing anything suspicious. It’s crazy stuff, I wouldn’t expect this around here.”
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