Son, husband of Sequatchie County murder victim make initial court appearance

DUNLAP, Tenn. (WDEF)- 50 year old Silvia Vilchez was found dead last week outside of her Sequatchie County home.

Now, her son and father stand accused of her murder.

18 year old Gabriel Vilchez and 64 year old David Gardiner made their first court appearances Tuesday at the Sequatchie County Justice Center.

An affidavit accuses Gabriel Vilchez of beating his mother to death with a ball bat while her husband watched.

Then the two took her body outside to burn.

Investigators believe this happened last Monday.

Today, a Sequatchie County judge deferred the decision of whether or not to set a bond in this case.

Vilchez says he will need a public defender.

However, Gardiner says he thinks he can afford his own attorney, which came with this warning from the judge.

Sequatchie County General Sessions Court Judge L. Thomas Austin said, “Once this date is set, whoever this lawyer is that you get, you must understand they must be ready to go on that preliminary hearing date. There’s no putting it off to put it off.”

Both will be back on court on Friday, with a preliminary hearing likely to be held sometime next month.