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DeBary man convicted of first-degree murder in father’s 2012 killing
A jury deliberated for just over an hour before finding a DeBary man guilty of murder in the killing of his father more than a decade ago.
Robert Remus Jr. strangled his father to death, tied his body to a barbecue grill and tossed him from a pontoon boat into the St. Johns River.
Remus Jr., 54, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in the killing of his 67-year-old father, Robert Remus Sr., in 2012. The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
A jury of 10 women and two men began deliberations just before 4 p.m. in Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn’s courtroom at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.
Assistant State Attorneys Andrew Urbanak and Joe LeDonne argued that Remus Jr. killed Remus Sr. to gain control of the father’s land in Costa Rica.
The father said the land was worth between $4 million and $5 million. The son said it was worth $2 million and he wanted his father to sell it.
Urbanak said in his closing argument that father and son went out on a ride on the father’s pontoon boat on Sept. 8, 2012. They left from a slip at the High Banks Marina. The marina was part of a trailer park where the father was living.
Son on trial in father’s murder:DeBary man goes on trial accused of killing father to gain control of valuable land
Urbanak said the last time the father was seen alive was before the boat ride.
The case had gone cold until Volusia Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Seth Amrhine took another look in 2019 and noticed that the father’s cellphone and the son’s cellphone seemed to be moving together in southern Volusia County on the days following the boat ride.
In his closing argument, Assistant Public Defender John Selden, who along with Assistant Public Defender Courtney Davison, is defending Remus, said that there was no motive for Remus to kill his father.
He said that a will left by the father, which was not valid, split the father’s assets equally among his four children. And since the will was not valid, the assets would have been split equally anyway.
Remus took the stand and testified for more than two hours Wednesday.
Remus testified that his father, who liked to travel, was getting ready to go on another trip. He said they went on the boat ride and returned to the marina about two to 2.5 hours later.
He said as the pontoon boat pulled away from the High Banks Marina, they noticed people gathering for a bonfire. He said when they returned the bonfire was still going and the crowd had grown larger.
He said he and his father went to his trailer on lot 123. They talked some business and the father instructed him on what he needed to while he was traveling.
Then Remus said he left.
He said early the next week he returned to High Banks and noticed that the pontoon was not in the same slip where it had been left on Saturday after the boat ride.
Remus testified he didn’t notice whether the barbecue grill was still on the boat or not.
Remus also admitted that he did not provide the Volusia Sheriff’s Office with his father’s 305 cell number. He said that was a business number that he needed to service the coin-pushing machines for his father.
Remus Jr. also said he deleted some information from some cellphones he did turn over because his father was sometimes involved in “shady” deals. Remus said he was afraid he might somehow be found criminally responsible for some of his father’s dealings.
Urbanak said Wednesday was the first time Remus had admitted to having the cellphone with the 305 number.
Urbanak placed his cellphone on the podium as he questioned why Remus did not give everything to the sheriff’s office during the murder investigation.
Urbanak also noted Remus’ admission that he had deleted some of the information on the phones.
Remus’ sentencing is scheduled for July 21.
