A 29-year-old Florida man has admitted to fatally attacking his 76-year-old grandmother, snapping her neck and repeatedly stomping on her head after she poked him in the back with a steak knife, according to detailed police arrest reports.
Violent Confrontation in Vero Beach
Nicholas Ivey, 29, confessed to detectives from the Indian River County Sheriff's Office that he killed his grandmother, Patricia Dibella, during a violent altercation at her Vero Beach apartment last Sunday. The arrest warrant alleges that Dibella had "come at him" with a kitchen steak knife, prompting the deadly response.
Ivey, who stands 6'1" and weighs 350 pounds, told authorities that after his grandmother poked him in the back with the knife, he snapped her neck and then proceeded to punch and stomp on her head while she lay on the ground. The attack occurred south of Orlando in the coastal community of Vero Beach.
Gruesome Cleanup and Theft
Following the alleged murder, Ivey moved his grandmother's body to a bedroom and undertook a methodical cleanup of the crime scene. According to the arrest report, he wiped blood from the floor with towels, washed his bloody sweatshirt, and placed the knife in a drawer.
He then took Dibella's credit cards and her Nissan sedan, driving to a nearby store where he purchased beer and cigarettes. After returning to the apartment, Ivey called his father and confessed to killing his grandmother, explaining that he wanted to discuss the situation with his father before contacting emergency services.
Discovery and Arrest
Ivey's father subsequently contacted the sheriff's office, prompting deputies to perform a welfare check at Dibella's apartment on the evening of Monday, February 2. When they arrived around 8:15 pm, they discovered a woman's body lying diagonally on a bed; when they attempted to lift her arm, it was "extremely stiff" indicating rigor mortis had set in.
Ivey was taken into custody and told deputies he was wearing the same sweatshirt he had on during the killing the previous evening. "She came at me with a knife," he told law enforcement, according to the arrest report.
Legal Proceedings and Charges
Once at the sheriff's office, Ivey was taken to the Criminal Investigations Division where he formally confessed to killing Dibella. While authorities have yet to file murder charges specifically for his grandmother's death, Ivey faces multiple other serious counts including:
- Grand theft auto
- Criminal use of personal identification
- Unlawful possession of stolen credit cards
- Fraudulent use of credit cards
The sheriff's office and medical examiner's office processed the crime scene and secured the Nissan sedan for forensic examination. Dibella's next of kin has been notified of her death.
Ivey is currently being held on a total of $400,000 bond at the Indian River County Jail, with his arraignment scheduled for March 10. The case continues to develop as investigators compile evidence and prepare formal charges.
