Mom expected to be formally charged today in killing, dismemberment of son

Feb. 03--Last May 10, on the day he turned 32, Ramsay Scrivo's mother dedicated a Rascal Flatts song on her public Facebook page to her youngest son that said she hoped all his dreams came true.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to. ... And while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too.

Today, Donna Kay Scrivo is expected to be formally charged with killing and dismembering her son, then discarding the bagged up body parts in rural China and St. Clair townships in St. Clair County.

"It just seems so out of character," said Thomas Odren, who lives next door to Donna Scrivo on Rosedale Street in Macomb County'sSt. Clair Shores. "That's what makes this so hard to process. She had such a good relationship with Ramsay. I would never expect anyone to (dismember their child).

"We're anxious to figure out what happened."

Police have not officially released the names, but a source close to the investigation confirmed the victim is Ramsay Scrivo and the suspect is his mother.

Online records show Donna Scrivo, who turns 60 on Tuesday, was booked Sunday at the Macomb County Jail on an open murder charge, pending a review of a warrant request Monday by the county Prosecutor's Office.

St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon told the Free Press the mother is expected to be arraigned Monday in Macomb County.

An autopsy has been performed, Donnellon said, but the results were incomplete on Sunday pending the findings from toxicology testing.

Although the body parts were dumped in St. Clair County, investigators believe the victim was killed and dismembered in St. Clair Shores in Macomb County.

Donna Scrivo filed a missing person's report on Ramsay Scrivo Monday, saying he had not been seen for about a day. The dismembered human remains were found Thursday in garbage bags in rural parts of St. Clair and China townships. The remains were later identified by the FBI through fingerprints.

Scrivo was arrested Friday. Police had been searching for a heavyset, middle-aged, white woman who was seen dumping garbage from her SUV in the area on Thursday.

Bagged body parts were found discarded in four locations. Police also recovered a fifth bag containing clothes and other nonperishable items. Surveillance footage from a store put a woman, believed to be the mother, in the area around the time the body parts were dumped, police said.

St. Clair Shores Police Detective Sgt. Jay Cohoe said one limb remains missing, and authorities continue to look for evidence in the case. He said the evidence so far is leading authorities to believe the crimes occurred in St. Clair Shores, and investigators are focusing on the victim's residence in the 23000 block of Gary Lane.

After arresting the suspect, investigators from both departments searched two locations in St. Clair Shores, the Gary Lane residence and the mother's home in the 22400 block of Rosedale, police said.

The mother had been staying with her son recently while work was done on her home, police said Sunday.

Ramsay Scrivo graduated from De La Salle Collegiate High School in 1999, received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Wayne State University and recently worked at Allstate Insurance in Roseville, according to neighbors and his public Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

On May 16, 2013, six days after she posted the birthday wishes for her son on Facebook, Donna Scrivo filed a mentally ill petition for hospitalization for Ramsay Scrivo in Macomb County Circuit Court. The petition was deferred, according to online court records.

Another mentally ill petition for hospitalization for Ramsay Scrivo was filed in September but was dismissed and the patient was discharged from the hospital, the records state.

Also in May, the records state, Donna Scrivo filed a petition to appoint a guardian for her son.

The May court filings came days after Donna Scrivo's husband, Daniel, died. Odren, the neighbor, said the family was still reeling from Daniel Scrivo's death.

"He took it really hard," Odren said about Ramsay Scrivo and his father's death. "(Donna Scrivo) did, too."

At the time of his death last year, Daniel Scrivo had been rehabbing the condo at Lakeshore Village where Ramsay Scrivo was living.

Sunday, two candles sat on the porch in front of Ramsay Scrivo's home. A U.S. flag flew over the unit's red front door. Neighbors there declined to talk about the man Sunday.

Cohoe said police have had contact with the mother and son in the past, sometimes involving family trouble. He said the investigation is focusing on one person, but when asked if other people are involved, Cohoe said, "There's still many questions."

Contact Marlon A. Walker: 313-223-4531 or mwalker@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marlonawalker.

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