Christian Gomez Decapitates Mom's Head

Christian Gomez was a happy child but things changed when he turned 18 years old. He began to isolate himself from friends, spent hours outside the house talking to God and stars, refused to shower under the belief that his mom watched him shower, became angry and could not hold a job.

Mental Health Decline

Christian lived in Oldsmar, Florida, with his brother, Mario Gomez, and their mother, Maura Suarez Cassagne, better known as Pia. His sister, Maria, moved out of the home because she feared Christian would hurt her. He had acted inappropriately around her many times, after all. In fact, Pia would not leave the two alone together out of fear.

Pia herself slept with a large kitchen knife under her bed pillow, afraid Christian would hurt her as she slept. But Pia loved her kids and desperately tried to help her son get the mental health help he finally received once he killed her.

"My mom loved Christian; she would do anything to protect him,'' said Christian's younger sister, Maria Jose Gomez. "But nobody could help us. She went to therapists, psychiatrists, counselors. Every time something else happened, they would say 'Up his (dose) of meds.' They didn't take the time to really look at Christian and figure out what was wrong with him.''

Unable to afford private care or find an available bed in a state-operated hospital, Pia knew the mental health professionals she could afford to treat Christian did not take his health seriously. One doctor diagnosed him as schizophrenic, although another decided he was depressed and another diagnosed his behavior as bipolar disorder.

Every doctor Christian visited wrote him a prescription based on whatever diagnosis they chose for that day and sent him on his way. When the meds stopped working, they increased the dosage or prescribed new medication altogether.

Christian attended a scheduled therapy appointment on December 30, 2014. The therapist suggested to his grandparents, who took him to the appointment, they find a new therapist.

Christian refused to take his medications. He cut off his mother’s head the following day.

Christian Murders Mother

On New Year’s Eve 2014, 23-year-old Christian Gomez murdered his mother and decapitated her head.

Before the murder, Pia asked Christian to take a few boxes to the basement. Christian became enraged at the request, certain his mother favored Mario over him. Christian retrieved an ax from the home, walked to the garage where his mother sorted through belongings, and repeatedly struck her in the head and body with the weapon.

Christian struck his mother so many times and with such force, he decapitated her head from her body. He dragged Pia’s body from the garage to the side yard and tossed her head in the garbage can.

Mario, who was upstairs at the time of the murder, did not hear the initial attack. Once he heard sounds, he ran downstairs, finding the headless body of his mother. Mario found her head in the trash can. Christian took off on his bicycle after the murder but police captured him a short time later.

Christian Charged With First-Degree Murder

At the station, Christian calmly explained that he was tired of his mother’s constant nagging and had planned to murder her for the past two days. She wanted him to put boxes away in the attic, he told investigators, and could not take it anymore.

He told police he used an ax to chop off his mother’s head. He said he then threw her head in a trash can. Since she was too heavy for him to lift, Christian said he dragged her body to the side yard.

After a futile attempt to clean the blood from the garage, Christian then fled from the home on his bicycle.

Case Aftermath

Christian spent three years in a mental institution before doctors declared him competent to stand trial. The now 27-year-old faced life in prison if convicted of the charge against him. He accepted a plea deal in July 2008 and was sentenced to 25-years behind bars. He has a current release date of 11-25-2039.

Gomez Family Unhappy With Verdict

Many members of the Gomez family are unhappy with the sentencing and feel he should be locked away in a mental hospital instead of inside a prison cell.

"I hate for another person to go through what my family has gone through. It's an injustice,'' said Christian's uncle, Mario Suarez. "He doesn't need to be in jail. He needs to be in a mental hospital.

"I wish that he could be sedated forever and not hurt anybody else. Because what he did was crazy. Nobody kills their mom and takes her head. People shoot other people, they stab other people. This was different. This was evil.''

Prior Run-ins With the Law

This was not the first run-in with the law for Christian. He had been stopped numerous times for non-arrestable offenses such as loitering in the streets and had numerous petty offenses on his record, including resisting arrest without violence, loitering, prowling, and disorderly conduct.

Resources & Additional Information:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/02/mentally-ill-florida-man-decapitated-mother-after-disagreement-about-chores/

https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/-How-could-he-be-found-competent-after-what-he-did-_170376898/