By . Anna Sanders . PUBLISHED: . 14:56 EST, 31 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:57 EST, 31 May 2013 . After beating his 70-year-old mom to death, police say a Florida man dismembered her body, scattered the pieces in the woods and escaped to Brooklyn, N.Y., with the rest of his family. Authorities arrested Francis Riccio, 45, in Brooklyn Thursday two months after his mother was killed and after a two-week investigation by the local sheriff's office with the New York City Police Department, according to Florida Today. Riccio is charged in the first-degree murder of his mother, Maureen Riccio, as well as the abuse of her dead body. Police say Riccio murdered his mother when he became stressed by her medical problems. Arrested: Police charged Francis Riccio, left, for brutally killing his 70-year-old mother, Maureen Riccio, right, and scattering pieces of her body near woods in Florida two months ago . Originally from New York, Riccio's mother moved to Florida late last year to live with him, his girlfriend and their three children, according to the Orlando Sentinel. '[Riccio] said [his mother is] kind of . schizophrenic, she flipped out here and there. He was talking about how . he wanted to send her back up north,' neighbor Richard Lucas told WKMG Local 6. 'I kind of thought something was wrong about his momma, but I didn't know for sure.' Neighbors told police things at their shared house in Melbourne, Fla., became tense between Riccio, his mother and his girlfriend when Riccio couldn't find a nursing facility for her. 'What we believe happened was sometime in late March, an argument escalated between our victim, her son and this female,' Maj. Tod Goodyear, of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, told Florida Today. 'It became violent, whereupon the son beat his mother to death.' Police say Riccio used a hammer or another instrument to kill her and dismembered her body for easier transport, according to Florida Today. Authorities believe Riccio discarded the pieces a few days after her death, putting them in garbage bags and scattering them along and within a wood south of their home. Ditched: An electrical technician found some of the dismembered remains of 70-year-old Maureen Riccio along the side of the road and woods in Micco, Fla., sparking a two-week investigation into her murder . He then cleaned the house, painted a bedroom, sold his truck and moved his family a thousand miles away in early April, police say. Riccio and his girlfriend, who he has been with for 20 years, pulled their children out of school for the move, saying there had been a death in the family. Authorities say their children, two teens and a 10-year-old, didn't appear to know anything had happened to their grandmother, though WKMG Local 6 reported deputies believe the children were home during the murder. Authorities began investigating Ms. Riccio's death when an electrical technician saw some of her remains on the side the road when he stopped to pee on May 14. After weeks searching the woods, police were able to find her entire body, Florida Today reports. Goodyear told Florida Today the NYPD was already investigating Riccio for selling stolen goods on Craigslist. When authorities found the family, they questioned Riccio's girlfriend, but she has not been charged. 'It can be very hard sometimes to take care of elderly parents,' Goodyear told Florida Today. 'It can be very frustrating, but I think that’s one of the things we sign on for as sons and daughters.' Riccio is being held by authorities without bond, but will eventually be transferred to Brevard County.
Francis Riccio, 45, was frustrated by his mom's medical problems, police say .
Pieces of Maureen Riccio's body were found scattered in a Florida wood nearly two months after police say she was murdered .
Maj. Tod Goodyear, from local sheriff's office: 'It can be very hard sometimes to take care of elderly parents'
By . Anna Sanders . PUBLISHED: . 14:56 EST, 31 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:57 EST, 31 May 2013 . After beating his 70-year-old mom to death, police say a Florida man dismembered her body, scattered the pieces in the woods and escaped to Brooklyn, N.Y., with the rest of his family. Authorities arrested Francis Riccio, 45, in Brooklyn Thursday two months after his mother was killed and after a two-week investigation by the local sheriff's office with the New York City Police Department, according to Florida Today. Riccio is charged in the first-degree murder of his mother, Maureen Riccio, as well as the abuse of her dead body. Police say Riccio murdered his mother when he became stressed by her medical problems. Arrested: Police charged Francis Riccio, left, for brutally killing his 70-year-old mother, Maureen Riccio, right, and scattering pieces of her body near woods in Florida two months ago . Originally from New York, Riccio's mother moved to Florida late last year to live with him, his girlfriend and their three children, according to the Orlando Sentinel. '[Riccio] said [his mother is] kind of . schizophrenic, she flipped out here and there. He was talking about how . he wanted to send her back up north,' neighbor Richard Lucas told WKMG Local 6. 'I kind of thought something was wrong about his momma, but I didn't know for sure.' Neighbors told police things at their shared house in Melbourne, Fla., became tense between Riccio, his mother and his girlfriend when Riccio couldn't find a nursing facility for her. 'What we believe happened was sometime in late March, an argument escalated between our victim, her son and this female,' Maj. Tod Goodyear, of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, told Florida Today. 'It became violent, whereupon the son beat his mother to death.' Police say Riccio used a hammer or another instrument to kill her and dismembered her body for easier transport, according to Florida Today. Authorities believe Riccio discarded the pieces a few days after her death, putting them in garbage bags and scattering them along and within a wood south of their home. Ditched: An electrical technician found some of the dismembered remains of 70-year-old Maureen Riccio along the side of the road and woods in Micco, Fla., sparking a two-week investigation into her murder . He then cleaned the house, painted a bedroom, sold his truck and moved his family a thousand miles away in early April, police say. Riccio and his girlfriend, who he has been with for 20 years, pulled their children out of school for the move, saying there had been a death in the family. Authorities say their children, two teens and a 10-year-old, didn't appear to know anything had happened to their grandmother, though WKMG Local 6 reported deputies believe the children were home during the murder. Authorities began investigating Ms. Riccio's death when an electrical technician saw some of her remains on the side the road when he stopped to pee on May 14. After weeks searching the woods, police were able to find her entire body, Florida Today reports. Goodyear told Florida Today the NYPD was already investigating Riccio for selling stolen goods on Craigslist. When authorities found the family, they questioned Riccio's girlfriend, but she has not been charged. 'It can be very hard sometimes to take care of elderly parents,' Goodyear told Florida Today. 'It can be very frustrating, but I think that’s one of the things we sign on for as sons and daughters.' Riccio is being held by authorities without bond, but will eventually be transferred to Brevard County.
police say a Florida man dismembered her body, Authorities arrested Francis Riccio, 45, in Brooklyn Thursday two months after his mother was local sheriff's office with the New York City and this female,' Maj. Tod Goodyear, of the she has not been charged. 'It can be very hard sometimes to take care of elderly parents,'