(Sequatchie County Sheriff\u2019s Office via Fox Chttanooga)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAt a different point in the hearing, Gardiner described the evidence he discovered inside Gardiner and the Vilchezes\u2019 home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the office room in the residence, there were 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,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn Gabriel\u2019s bedroom, Ms. Vilchez\u2019s driver\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilkey claimed that Gabriel told police \u201cthat he had beaten his mother with a ball bat [in the office] and drug her body out to a fire pit and burned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the detective, Gabriel later \u201cstated that he started hitting his mother with a ball bat, Mr. Gardiner came in, also hit his mother with a ball bat.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce 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,\u201d Wilkey said, adding the teen later made \u201ca statement that [the body] was thrown into the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGardiner offered an account that varied significantly from his stepson\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Gardiner\u2019s statement that was once Gabriel and Silvia came back from their church event, he went to bed,\u201d said Wilkey.<\/p>\n
Gardiner allegedly claimed that he was awakened by a car door around 3:00 AM. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe got up the next morning, realized the floor was soaking wet [in his home office],\u201d Wilkey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bond was denied for Vilchez, while Gardiner\u2019s was set at $250,000. It\u2019s unclear if Gardiner was able to post bail. <\/p>\n
Both men are due back in court on January 30.<\/p>\n
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Gabriel](\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-12-at-1.17.01-PM-675x1024.png\")
![\"David](\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-12-at-1.17.17-PM-682x1024.png\")