Michigan woman charged with murder in son's dismemberment

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. - A 60-year-old suburban Detroit woman was charged with first-degree murder Monday in the slaying of her adult son whose dismembered body was found in trash bags along two rural roadways.

Donna Scrivo was arraigned Monday in St. Clair Shores District Court and was ordered held without bond.

She was charged earlier this month with mutilating and illegally removing a corpse after Ramsay Scrivo's body parts were found northeast of Detroit in St. Clair County.

Donna Scrivo had petitioned for and was awarded legal guardianship of her son in May 2013 because of his severe mental illness. A judge said doctors had determined Ramsay Scrivo had “psychosis” and “was a danger to himself.”

Autopsy results show the 32-year-old died from asphyxiation. Authorities have not named a motive in the case.

Prosecutors say Donna Scrivo filed a missing person's report Jan. 27 in which she claimed her son left his St. Clair Shores home and failed to return. Three days later, someone reported seeing a woman dumping trash bags from an SUV in China and St. Clair townships.

Authorities said in court Monday that Donna Scrivo used an electric circular saw to dismember her son’s body, the Detroit Free Press reports. The saw was reportedly found with his body parts.

Authorities say Donna Scrivo was captured on store surveillance video buying the saw, according to the paper.

CBS Detroit reports Scrivo will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if she is competent to stand trial.