Florida man charged with murdering mother and setting house ablaze over cremation dispute

Lee County authorities arrested 23-year-old George Beemer on Saturday, charging him with second-degree murder, first-degree arson and abuse of a dead human body. After Beemer reported chest pain and was taken to a hospital, a second 911 call alerted fire crews to a blaze at his Fort Myers home, where they discovered his mother’s severely burned corpse. Detectives say Beemer admitted to shooting his mother once and then dousing the scene with gasoline before setting it alight, saying she had requested cremation.

He also alleged years of mistreatment, including molestation, a claim his mother’s friend rejected as unfounded. A former classmate expressed shock at the arrest but not at the outcome. Sheriff Carmine Marceno praised the coordinated effort of major-crimes detectives, crime-scene investigators and fire personnel. Beemer remains incarcerated at the Lee County Jail as the case proceeds.