Overview
- Deputies discovered Patricia Dibella, 76, dead in her Vero Beach apartment during a welfare check requested by family.
- Nicholas Ivey, 29, told investigators he killed his grandmother, saying he snapped her neck and struck her while she was on the ground.
- An arrest report states Ivey moved the body to a bedroom, wiped blood from the floor, washed his sweatshirt and towels, and put the knife in a drawer.
- Investigators say he used Dibella’s Nissan and her credit card the next day to buy cigarettes and a beer.
- Ivey is jailed on theft and fraud counts with $400,000 bond as authorities await forensic results and the medical examiner’s findings before filing homicide charges; his arraignment on current charges is set for March 10.