Donna Scrivo is a former registered nurse from St. Clair Shores, Michigan, who was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for killing and dismembering her 32-year-old son, Ramsay, in January 2014. She is serving a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.1Detroit Free Press. Donna Scrivo Sentenced for Murder of Son
Who Ramsay Scrivo Was
Ramsay Scrivo had been diagnosed with psychosis and was described in Macomb County probate court records as paranoid and suicidal.2USA Today. Mich. Body Parts Trash Bag His condition worsened sharply after his father, Daniel Scrivo, died on May 15, 2013, at age 61 from a terminal illness.3Columbia Daily Herald. Michigan Woman Charged With Dismemberment Court records described Ramsay’s depression and anger reaching “unsafe levels” in the months that followed, and he threatened to hang himself.
He refused prescribed medications and behaved erratically. In September 2013, convinced that a speaker had been implanted in one of his teeth, he tore out a dental crown looking for it. He also believed a family friend had poisoned him, threatened that friend, and had been in several physical fights. He was on probation for simple assault at the time.2USA Today. Mich. Body Parts Trash Bag
That same May, Donna, then 60, petitioned the probate court for both hospitalization and guardianship. Ramsay agreed to be hospitalized for up to 90 days, and she was granted legal guardianship over him. She was living in Ramsay’s townhouse at the time because her own house was being repaired after a fire.2USA Today. Mich. Body Parts Trash Bag
The Killing and the Trash Bags
On January 27, 2014, Donna filed a missing person’s report, telling police that Ramsay had left the home and not come back.4CBS News Detroit. Opening Statements Made in Case of Mom Accused in Murder, Dismemberment of Son Three days later, authorities in St. Clair County received reports of a woman dumping black trash bags along rural roads in China Township and St. Clair Township. On January 31, investigators found Ramsay’s dismembered remains in five black plastic bags scattered along a rural road about two miles east of Interstate 94. The bags were spaced 100 yards or more apart and contained ribs, a leg, a thigh, the buttocks, and his head; a foot protruded from one bag. His right arm was never recovered.5MLive. Detective Testifies About the Discovery of Remains
Macomb County Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz ruled the death a homicide. Ramsay died from asphyxiation and had ligature marks on his neck along with blunt-force trauma to his head and shoulders. Toxicology found large amounts of Xanax in his system.6USA Today. Mich. Body Parts Trash Bags Murder Charge
The Evidence Against Donna Scrivo
Donna was arrested on January 31, 2014. She was first charged with disinterment and mutilation of a body and removing a body without a medical examiner’s permission, and later charged with first-degree premeditated murder.7Time. Michigan Mom Dismembered Son
The physical case was substantial. Inside one of the bags, investigators recovered an electric circular saw. Store surveillance footage showed Donna purchasing a saw of that same model at a Lowe’s the same week.8Michigan Court of Appeals. People v. Scrivo, No. 330292 Donna held a prescription for Xanax, and 10.5 pills were unaccounted for when she was arrested. A search of the townhouse revealed blood stains and a strong bleach smell, and Ramsay’s blood was found in Donna’s SUV. Her DNA was recovered from a glove near the remains that matched a pair she had worn when she filed the missing person’s report. Neighbors testified to hearing intermittent sawing and smelling a mix of chemicals and bleach coming from the townhouse in the days leading up to her arrest.9MLive. Strange Smells, Sawing Noises Described at Trial Cell phone records showed no calls from Donna to Ramsay after January 24.
The Trial and Donna’s Defense
Opening statements began on May 6, 2015, in Macomb County Circuit Court before Judge Richard Caretti.4CBS News Detroit. Opening Statements Made in Case of Mom Accused in Murder, Dismemberment of Son Assistant Prosecutor William Cataldo argued that Donna drugged Ramsay with Xanax until he lost consciousness, strangled him, placed his body in a bathtub, partially burned it, then used an electric saw to dismember the remains and scattered them along rural roads.
Donna told a different story. She testified that on January 26, 2014, a masked and armed man broke into Ramsay’s room, killed him, and held her captive for five days, forcing her to help dispose of the body by threatening to harm other family members. Her attorney, Mark Haddad, emphasized that Donna weighed only 110 pounds and could not have moved her 235-pound son into a bathtub. He also noted that none of Ramsay’s DNA was found on his mother and asked what possible reason she would have to kill and dismember her own child.10CBS News. Donna Scrivo Guilty of Murder in Death, Dismemberment of Son Cataldo called the masked-intruder account fabricated and pointed the jury back to the physical evidence.
Verdict, Sentence, and Appeal
On May 18, 2015, the jury found Donna Scrivo guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, mutilation of a body, and removing a body without the permission of a medical examiner.11The Morning Sun. Jury Finds Donna Scrivo Guilty of Killing, Dismembering Son On June 30, 2015, Judge Caretti sentenced her to mandatory life without parole on the murder count, plus 57 months to 10 years for body mutilation and one year for removing a body without authorization.1Detroit Free Press. Donna Scrivo Sentenced for Murder of Son
She appealed, arguing prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and insufficient evidence. The Michigan Court of Appeals acknowledged some improper conduct by the prosecutor, including comments on Donna’s post-arrest silence and the introduction of certain character evidence, but ruled the errors harmless given what it called the “overwhelming evidence” of guilt and the trial court’s curative jury instructions. The court rejected the ineffective-assistance claims, held the evidence sufficient, and declined to second-guess the jury’s decision to disbelieve the masked-intruder testimony. The convictions were affirmed on June 20, 2017.8Michigan Court of Appeals. People v. Scrivo, No. 330292
Where Donna Scrivo Is Now
Donna Scrivo is incarcerated at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan.12Prison Legal News. Default Judgment in Female Michigan Prisoner’s Pro Se Excessive Force Claim Ramsay’s name is listed on the Disability Day of Mourning memorial, which remembers people with disabilities killed by family members or caregivers; he is included as a person living with schizophrenia who was murdered by his mother and legal guardian.13Disability Memorial. Ramsay Scrivo