A troubling incident occurred on the eve of the New Year in the city of Oldsmar in Florida, where a man decapitated his mother using an ax.
Christian Jose Gomez, 23, has been charged with first degree murder after his mother was found decapitated outside their house.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said that the suspect's brother, Mario Gomez, 27, contacted 911 on the evening of Dec. 31 and told the hotline's dispatchers that Christian had murdered their mother, cutting off her head.
When police arrived at the scene, deputies discovered the body of Maria Suarez-Cassagne outside the family's house, near a few garbage cans. The head of his mother was found inside one of the garbage cans.
According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Gomez had been planning to kill his mother for two days before the incident. Gomez became upset with his mother due to her nagging him to do the chore of moving boxes around their house. In addition, Gomez had grown jealous of the attention that the mother was giving to his brother, said Gualtieri.
When the two were in the garage of their home, Gomez attacked his mother using an ax. The attack severed the head of the woman, then Gomez allegedly decided to drag the body of his mother from inside the garage to outside their home, leaving the corpse near the garbage cans where the police found her.
After leaving his mother's body outside the house, Gomez fled from the scene. However, he was arrested just a few blocks from their home after another person called 911 to report a suspicious individual riding a bicycle within the area.
The weapon that was used by Gomez to sever his mother's head was recovered by the police. His brother, Mario, did not suffer any injuries related to the incident.
Gualtieri told reporters that the incident was one of the worst crimes that the department has ever witnessed. Gomez, according to Gualtieri, admitted to the murder of his mother.
The sheriff's office reported that Gomez was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and had previously been admitted under the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, more commonly known as the Baker Act, which allows for the involuntary institutionalization and examination of individuals suffering from mental illness.
Gomez also had criminal records in Pinellas Country for prowling and loitering, resisting a police officer with no violence and disorderly conduct.
