The Pinellas County man accused of cutting off his mother's head with an ax on New Year's Eve had a long history of arrests and mental illness.
Now, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, this case may prove that changes are needed within the system.
Christian Gomez, 23, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the grisly death of his mother, 48-year-old Maria Suarez-Cassagne.
Officials say there are 30 incidents involving Gomez on record with the sheriff’s office. Those incidents included a Baker Act and neighbors say his mother spoke recently about her son’s mental illness, saying he wasn’t taking his medication.
Gualtieri said this situation happens all too often.
"Law enforcement is seeing more and more of this," Gualtieri said. "And unfortunately there’s a capacity issue within the mental health system, and I do think this is something that warrants attention, and it’s something that there’s room to do more."
Detectives say Gomez was cool, calm, and collected as he confessed what he’d done, explaining how he’d planned to kill his mother, and how he used an ax to chop off her head.
Gualtieri says the majority of people who are Baker Acted are held the maximum 72 hours, evaluated, and released, with no real treatment given. He said from there, they typically end up in jail, or being Baker Acted again, a vicious cycle that needs to stop.
"What’s very important is that these people get sustaining treatment," he said. "And hopefully avoid situations like this."