Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES. >> IN A SMALL COMMUNITY, IT IS ALL ANYONE CAN TALK ABOUT. BEHIND ME, THE SMALL MEMORIAL HAS POPPED UP OUTSIDE OF RIVER CITY CHURCH. THE CHURCH IS ON THE FRONT PART OF THE PROPERTY FROM WHERE HER BODY WAS FOUND. THERE ARE FLOWERS, CANDLES, AND PICTURES. HER NEIGHBORS ARE DOWN THE ROAD FROM THE PROPERTY ARE TRYING TO ACCEPT WHAT HAPPENED BUT CANNOT UNDERSTAND. WE SPOKE WITH A NEIGHBOR WHO SPOKE WITH GAIL CLEVENGER HOURS BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED. HE HAD TALKED WITH HER ABOUT HIS SON. HE SAID THEY HAD DRIVEN UP AND DOWN THE ROAD WHERE THE FAMILY LIVED RECKLESSLY. HE CHALKED IT UP TO THEM BEING TEENAGERS. THE NEXT AFTERNOON, HE STOOD OUTSIDE WITH THE 15-YEAR-OLD TRYING TO CONSOLE HIM AS DEPUTIES INVESTIGATED BUT TOOK PLACE. THEY MOST STRANGLED HIS MOTHER TWICE AND PLOTTED A STORY TO COVER UP HIS CRIME AND BURY HER BODY WHEN INVESTIGATORS ALLEGE HE ENLISTED TO FRIENDS TO HELP. HE REMAINS IN JAIL. HIS FRIENDS HAVE BEEN RELEASED TO FAMILY ON HOME DETENTION AND ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR IGO MONITORS. GAIL CLEVE INJURES EMPLOYER TELLS ME SHE ALWAYS GREETED HER COWORKERS WITH A SMILE AND CONSTANTLY HAD A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. THEY ARE TRYING TO WRAP THEIR HEADS AROUND WHAT HAPPENED. I SPOKE WITH VOLUSIA COUNTY SCHOOLS WHO HAS COUNSELORS ON HANDS AT UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL OR ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE B

Advertisement 'He was a soulless individual,': DeBary teen killed mother after argument over grades, deputies say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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. "This was methodical. I mean his own words were it took thirty minutes to kill his mother," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. 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. Friends and neighbors knew Cleavenger as a kind, caring wife, mom and friend."I just started crying you know, I can't imagine getting that call, her husband...." Lynn Hackett said. "I'm gonna miss her, and I think it's a terrible tragedy."Ramos told 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. Those same friends helped lead detectives to the fire pit where Cleavenger’s body was found early Saturday morning. Officials said the fire pit was a place the three friends often met."They would hang back at this fire pit so it was a very well-known place for them, a place they felt comfortable coming to," Chitwood said. "It's heartbreaking to sit down with the family, because the family has lost everything."Deputies said they recovered items removed from the home during the staged burglary.Chitwood said the teen at the center of the case is one of the least remorseful accused killers he's ever seen in his career in law enforcement. "He was a soulless individual who thought he was the smartest person in the room," Chitwood said. "He also stated to us, he believes he deserved a Grammy for the way he performed with the 911 call.""The case we worked tonight was one of the most disturbing and saddest I've seen in my career. I have a feeling this is a case we'll be hearing about for years to come. All our hearts break for this family," Chitwood said early Saturday. Ramos and the two other teenagers made their first appearances in front of a judge on Sunday.Ramos will remain in custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.Attorneys for Ramos' friends asked the teens be released to their parents with home confinement. Parents and grandparents were at court on Sunday.The judge ordered home confinement for both with electronic monitoring. Both boys are not allowed to have contact with the co-defendants or the victim's family.One teen, who works in Sanford, is allowed to go to work in Seminole County only for his job.