OCTOBER 15--Meet Kathleen Allmond and her son Tony Ray.

According to cops, the duo cremated Allmond's 84-year-old mother Ramona last December in a backyard barbecue pit at their secluded northern California home.

Ramona Allmond, who suffered from dementia, apparently died in the home she shared with her 50-year-old daughter and grandson. Investigators allege that after Ramona's death, Allmond and Ray continued to collect her Social Security checks and retirement benefits for 11 months (which resulted in the pair's arrest Sunday for embezzlement, as well as elder abuse and conspiracy).

Foul play is not suspected in Ramona's death. Tehama County Sheriff's Department deputies learned of Ramona's demise after a relative requested a welfare check on the woman, who had not been heard from for about a year.

Allmond and Ray, 30, cremated Ramona in a small concrete pit that they had used weeks earlier to cook the family's Thanksgiving dinner. Allmond and Ray are each being held in the Tehama County jail in lieu of $30,000 bail. (1 page)