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Robert Remus Jr. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office) and the area where his dad’s body was recovered (WESH screenshot)
A 54-year-old man in Florida will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his father more than 10 years ago, strangling the 67-year-old before tying his body to a propane barbecue grill and throwing it over the side of a pontoon boat. Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Elizabeth A. Blackburn on Friday ordered Robert Remus Jr. to serve a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2012 slaying of Robert Remus Sr., court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Authorities said Remus killed his dad so he could take control of his finances and party.
Remus was found guilty in June on one count of first-degree premeditated murder in his father’s grisly death by a Volusia County jury following a trial that lasted four days, prosecutors said in a press release.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded at about noon on Dec. 12, 2012, to an area about 1.5 miles north of 488 West Highbanks Road in DeBary, Florida, 25 miles north of Orlando, after recreational boaters discovered a body floating in the St. Johns River and called the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Once there, first responders found Robert Remus Sr.’s bloated and decomposed body floating stationary in the water. The body had “a blue and white synthetic rope tied around his neck and ankle, which was tethered to a four-burner propane grill.” Authorities said it appeared that the victim had been tied to a propane grill and tossed into the water.
Deputies noted the victim had on several pieces of gold jewelry.
The Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office said his manner of death was a homicide, and the cause was consistent with ligature strangulation. Officials determined the body had been in the water for several days.
When detectives notified Remus about his father’s death, he immediately asked “if he was in trouble and if he needed an attorney,” the affidavit states.
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During the interview with detectives, Remus said his dad had “many enemies because he was a shrewd businessman.”
He then said he last saw his dad four days earlier when they went for a ride on his pontoon boat at about 3:30 p.m., the affidavit said. Remus claimed they drank a few beers and then went home. He also described the boat, mentioning a metal propane grill, and later confirmed there were blue and white ropes on board.
Surveillance video showed Remus and his dad getting in the boat, with his dad wearing the same clothing he was found in when floating dead in the river.
Detectives noted that Remus had not been notified about the circumstances surrounding Remus Sr. being found with the grill tied to his body and said he did not ask any questions about “what happened to him.”
Remus also expressed an interest in some of his dad’s real estate holdings.
“Remus Jr. stated he wanted Remus Sr. to sell a piece of property he owned in Costa Rica for $2 million, but Remus Sr. wanted to sell it for about twice that amount,” the affidavit states. “Remus Jr. stated he told his father they could ‘party’ for a lower sale price. Remus Jr. was interested in his ability to access Remus Sr.’s finances and also wanted the ability to complete the renovation on [the Costa Rica property] and get it sold.”
Remus was the executor of his father’s estate and “had the potential for significant financial gain after his death,” prosecutors said in their press release.
“A pontoon ride turns deadly as a son murders his father — all for financial gain, State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement. “The nature of the murder is especially disturbing, and unfortunately, the defendant will be spared a similar fate.”
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