Gregory Ramos DeBary Florida teen pleads guilty to strangling architect mother following fight over bad school grades.
A 17-year-old Florida teen has pled guilty to killing his mother following an argument over a bad grade, according to reports.
Gregory Logan Ramos — who was 15 when he was charged with the 2018 strangling of his 46-year-old architect mother, Gail Cleavenger, after a fight about a ‘D’ grade he received at school — agreed to a 45-year prison sentence during a plea deal, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Ramos, who lived with his mother in DeBary, pleaded guilty in Volusia County to charges of first-degree murder, abuse of a dead body and tampering with evidence.
Prior to Wednesday’s plea deal, Ramos, who prosecutors charged as an adult, could have faced lifetime in prison. Since he was a juvenile when arrested, Ramos could not be sentenced to mandatory life without any chance of release.
Ramos, who also agreed to a lifetime of probation, will have a chance at parole when his sentence is reviewed in 25 years. He will be formally sentenced on Jan. 22, WFTV reported.
Gregory Ramos, the DeBary teen accused of strangling his mother when the two argued over grades, took a plea deal this morning. He pleaded guilty & agreed to serve 45 years with a chance of parole in 25 years and lifetime probation. Sentencing will be January 22 pic.twitter.com/6sYZfeZ6JO
— Mike Springer WFTV (@mspringerwftv) December 9, 2020
Confessed it took 30 minutes to strangle mother to death
Authorities described a ‘soulless’ Ramos confessing to killing Cleavenger, putting her body in a wheelbarrow and burying her beneath a fire pit at a church. He called 911 in November 2018 one day after the slaying and claimed his mother was missing following a burglary, but detectives doubted his story due in part of scratches on his face, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood previously said.
Ramos also staged a burglary crime scene with the help of two friends, Dylan Ceglarek and Brian Porras, both 17 at the time, who later confessed to helping Ramos, cops said.
‘This was a tragedy beyond understanding,’ the Volusia Sheriff’s office tweeted Wednesday. ‘May Gail Cleavenger rest in peace. Thanks to the deputies, detectives and prosecutors who worked so hard on this difficult case.’
During police questioning, Ramos confessed to investigators killing his mother, telling investigators it took him 30 minutes to strangle his mother after a fight they had a day earlier.
Remorseful
‘He is extremely remorseful and he regrets his actions every day,’ Ramos’ attorney, Matt Phillips, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. ‘He is looking forward to having a release date and proving he can be a productive citizen.’
If charged and ultimately convicted as a juvenile, Ramos would have been released from custody at age 21, the newspaper reported.
Ceglarek and Porras, meanwhile, were also charged as adults and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of accessory after the fact to premeditated first-degree murder, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Ramos had been a member of the Orange City Police Explorers and said he had hoped to become a homicide detective in the future.
