An 18-year-old Tennessee man allegedly beat his mother to death with a baseball bat as her husband watched, then they burned her body in the backyard and told cops she left for her native Costa Rica.

Gabriel Vilchez and his 64-year-old stepfather David Gardiner are charged with murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of 47-year-old Silvia Vilchez.

According to the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office, several people called to report Silvia Vilchez missing on Oct. 28. Gabriel Vilchez claimed his mother left the country.

Two days later, deputies searched the residence in Lewis Chapel, which is roughly 30 miles north of Chattanooga. Inside, detectives found a crime scene in the home office.

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