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Son's mental illness preceded decapitation of mother in Oldsmar (w/video)

 
Authorities say Christian Gomez, 24, killed his mother, Maria Suarez-Cassagne, 48, in the family’s home in Oldsmar.
Authorities say Christian Gomez, 24, killed his mother, Maria Suarez-Cassagne, 48, in the family’s home in Oldsmar.
Published May 12, 2015

OLDSMAR — Christian Gomez liked to be alone. He watched TV, played video games, and sat outside for hours to stare at the grass and the sky. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he sometimes heard echoes and flipped over his mattress at night when voices accosted him from under his bed.

Gomez, 24, was taking medication, but it wasn't enough to stop him Dec. 31 when detectives say he grabbed an ax and decapitated his mother, Maria Suarez-Cassagne, in the family's Oldsmar home.

He faces a first-degree murder charge in what authorities have called one of the most macabre homicides in Pinellas County. A judge recently found him incompetent to stand trial and ordered that his mental state be re-evaluated in six months.

Until then, he remains in a state hospital.

• • •

A 48-year-old single mother, Suarez hoped her son would recover from his illness.

She drove Gomez to psychiatrist's offices and often left work early to drive him to therapy sessions. She bought his prescription medicine, Seroquel, and crushed the pills into his food when Gomez refused to take them, according to records obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

"She applied to get him help. She got the right medication," her oldest son, Mario Gomez, told investigators, "but things weren't right in the house."

Suarez lived at 1924 Sheffield Court in a three-bedroom home with Gomez and her 16-year-old daughter, Maria Jose.

"He had told the therapist he felt like a burden to my mom," Maria Jose testified. "He thought that me and my mom were watching him through the TV. He was paranoid."

She was also not allowed to stay home alone with her brother after he exhibited inappropriate behavior, she told prosecutors.

His uncle, Mario Suarez, tried to chat with him in 2010 when Suarez was making repairs to the house.

"I would find him in the back yard reading like a little Bible and chanting," testified Suarez. He declined to speak to a Times reporter. "He would look up to the sky and say he loved to talk to the stars and talk to God."

Gomez's condition worsened in the days before Dec. 31 when his older brother, Mario, visited the family from Virginia. The brothers argued often, records state.

"When Mario came down, he was in his room more," Maria Jose testified. "My mom, she wasn't focused on Mario, but since she only sees him once a year, she just wanted to spend time with him and, like, all of us. (Christian) didn't want to be a part of any of that. He would just stay in his room."

On New Year's Eve, Mario cooked corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage for dinner.

The family, including Christian, gathered at the table and said grace.

• • •

After dinner, Suarez dropped her daughter off at work about 5 p.m. at a Little Caesars and headed home. Mario Gomez, 28, remembers the last time he saw his mother alive: she was in her room listening to music.

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Afterward, this is what he recalls, according to his deposition:

Gomez was reading when Christian sat in front of him on the floor, watched him for a few moments, and then left. Five minutes later, Christian asked his mother if she still wanted help bringing down boxes from the attic to store holiday decorations.

She said yes. Together, they headed toward the garage.

"I heard a thump in the garage, and I thought it was the boxes he was bringing down," Mario testified. "That's why I didn't put much mind in it. I didn't hear a scream, yelling, yelping, anything."

Outside the house, Veronica Allen, Suarez's friend, had just arrived so that Suarez could dye her hair. She walked toward the open garage door and saw Christian Gomez with a Swiffer, a broom, and a bucket, records state. He was mopping up what Allen thought was red paint.

Allen called Suarez to tell her Gomez was acting strangely. She left a voice mail and text messages. When Suarez didn't reply, Allen left, thinking there had been some kind of family dispute, she told investigators.

Mario Gomez, still reading inside, noticed about 20 minutes later that the house was too quiet. He got up. His mother hadn't returned to her room. He opened the garage door and saw a puddle of blood and an ax leaning against a wall. He followed a trail of blood to the front door.

Outside, he discovered his mother's headless body, records state. His brother was missing.

Gomez called 911.

"Oh, my God!" he yelled into the phone. "I can't believe it!"

• • •

A few blocks away on Forest Drive, Christian asked four neighbors playing poker in an open garage for a beer. They gave him a water bottle instead.

Ronald Quick approached Christian, who was hiding near garbage cans, and gave him the water. He noticed blood on Christian's ankles.

Christian rode off on his bike. The neighbors noticed helicopters overhead and called 911.

About 8 p.m., deputies spotted Christian. He tried to ride past a cruiser in front of him, but fell off his bicycle and onto the grass at 1802 Driftwood Circle. Back at his home, investigators found Suarez's head in a trash can.

At the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Dunedin station, homicide detectives spoke to Christian for the first time. The public defender's office, which is representing Gomez, declined to comment.

In short, whispered sentences, Gomez said he had thoughts about killing his mother for two days. He was angry, he told detectives, when he grabbed an ax and swung it like a baseball bat at her, records state.

"I finished her," he said.

Times staff writer Curtis Krueger contributed to this report. Contact Laura C. Morel at lmorel@tampabay.com or follow @lauracmorel.