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DeBary man found guilty in 2012 murder of his own father

By Charles Frazier, WFTV.com

DeBary man charged with own father’s 2012 murder The son of a man found dead in the Saint Johns River in 2012 has been charged with his father’s murder. (Volusia County Jail)

By Charles Frazier, WFTV.com

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A DeBary man on trial for the 2012 murder of his own father was found guilty by a Volusia County jury Wednesday.

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Now 54-year-old Robert Remus Jr. has been convicted of first-degree murder for the strangulation of his father, Robert Remus Sr.

Remus Sr.’s body was found floating in the St. John’s River in DeBary on Dec. 12, 2012.

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He had been bound to a four-burner propane grill with rope. An autopsy later revealed Remus Sr. died by strangulation.

Volusia County investigators determined Remus Sr. was last seen alive four days earlier going out on a pontoon boat with his son, Remus Jr.

According to investigators, Remus Jr. spent the next four days using his father’s home while giving people conflicting explanations for why he was missing.

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Cell phone records also showed Remus Jr. was using his father’s phone while he was missing and after the body had been discovered.

Detectives ultimately determined Remus Jr. killed his father at some point during the boat ride because he stood to gain from his death financially.

He remained a person of interest in the case until he was finally arrested and charged in 2020, nearly eight years after the murder.

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After a four-day trial, Remus was found guilty as charged Wednesday of first-degree murder.

“A pontoon ride turns deadly as a son murders his father, all for financial gain,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement announcing the verdict. “The nature of the murder is especially disturbing and unfortunately the defendant will be spared a similar fate.”

Remus Jr. will be sentenced by Judge Elizabeth Blackburn on July 21.

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