An 18-year-old man from Tennessee is accused of fatally attacking his mother with a baseball bat while her husband witnessed the incident. Afterwards, the pair allegedly burned her remains in their backyard, later telling authorities she had traveled to her native Costa Rica.

Gabriel Vilchez, alongside his 64-year-old stepfather, David Gardiner, face charges for the murder and improper treatment of the body of 47-year-old Silvia Vilchez.

The disappearance of Silvia Vilchez was reported to the Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Office on October 28 by several concerned individuals. Gabriel Vilchez had informed them that his mother had left for Costa Rica.

On October 30, investigators conducted a search at the family home in Lewis Chapel, located approximately 30 miles north of Chattanooga. During the search, they uncovered evidence of a violent altercation in the home office.

Detective Bryan Wilkie, speaking at a preliminary hearing on Monday, described the scene: “Red-brown stains were visible on the garbage and all four walls. Blood was found on the desk, printer, baseboards, and throughout the walls.”

Investigators then found Silvia Vilchez’s body in a burn pit.

Authorities took the younger Vilchez and Gardiner into custody. Vilchez allegedly admitted to beating his mother to death with the bat and said Gardiner hit her as well. He and his stepfather then reportedly rolled her up in the carpet and rolled her outside to a fire pit.

“He stated they were out there all night long feeding wood on the fire to keep it burning,” Wilkie said.

Gardiner apparently gave a much different story. He told authorities he is a “heavy sleeper” and slept through the beating and burning of the body, and insisted he knew nothing about what happened.

Skeptical of Gardiner’s story, prosecutors asked Wilkie what a body would smell like as it was being burned.

“It’s a pretty strong odor,” Wilkie said — the implication being that Gardiner would have noticed it.

Authorities have not publicly divulged a motive for the killing.

The judge ordered Gabriel Vilchez held in the Sequatchie County Jail without bond and Gardiner on a $250,000 bond. Their next court date is Jan. 30.