Woman’s Teen Son, Husband Accused of Beating Her to Death, Burning Body And Claiming She Left Country

David Gardiner, 64, and 18-year-old stepson Gabriel Vilchez have been charged with murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of Silvia Vilchez, 47. Silvia’s remains were found near her home on October 30, two days after she was reported missing to the Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Office.

According to testimony from Detective Ryan Wilkey at a preliminary hearing on Monday, officers who spoke with both suspects said they initially claimed she was on a “church trip” and “going to Costa Rica.”

Wilkey, however, couldn’t indicate who said what, as Gardiner’s attorney pushed back on his account in an attempt to distance his client from the crime.

Wilkey also testified about what authorities allegedly found inside the home, after obtaining a search warrant.

“In the office room in the residence, there was reddish-brown stains on the carpet. On all four walls, there was blood spattered. On the desk, on the printer, on the baseboards, all over the walls,” he said. “In Gabriel’s bedroom, Ms. Vilchez’s driver’s license and I think it was a citizenship card. Her wallet was found in his closet and the keys to his vehicle were found in his closet.”

He said the victim’s remains were then found near the home, in a fire pit.

Per Wilkey, Gabriel initially told authorities “that he had beaten his mother with a ball bat [in the office] and drug her body out to a fire pit and burned it.” After some questioning, according to the detective, he claimed his stepfather was also involved in dragging the body out of the home and burning it.

In a followup statement, the teen’s story changed a bit — with Wilkey claiming he later “stated that he started hitting his mother with a ball bat, Mr. Gardiner came in, also hit his mother with a ball bat.” He said the teen also said, “once they were done, they took the body out to he back porch, rolled it up in a carpet and took it to the fire pit and burned it.”

The bat hasn’t been recovered, though Wilkey claimed “a statement was made that it was thrown into the fire.”

Gardiner’s statement to police, however, differed greatly from his stepson’s.

“Mr. Gardiner’s statement that was once Gabriel and Silvia came back from their church event, he went to bed,” said Wilkey, who claimed Gardiner also said he only heard a car door around 3:00-3:30AM. “He got up the next morning, realized the floor was soaking wet [in office]. He stated that Gabriel had used a red cleaner to clean the carpet with because it had a roll-up punching bag that leaked rusty water to the floor.”

Claiming he wasn’t involved and knew nothing about what happened in the home, Gardiner also allegedly said he was a “heavy sleeper.”

Another detective on the case, Kaylee Smith, also testified about a phone call by Gardiner she allegedly overheard in jail. “He said that he wants to get out and sell everything he has and get the hell out of here,” she said, as Assistant District Attorney Steve Strain argued for him to face substantial bond.

Stain also said it “defies any sort of logic that Mr. Gardiner was not aware of what had happened” in the home, while Gardiner’s attorney Michael Dowd said, “To say this is circumstantial is giving it far too much credit … it is beyond circumstantial.”

In the end, bond was denied for Vilchez, while Gardiner’s was set at $250,000. They’re both due back in court on January 30.