Florida | Jury recommends death penalty for man who killed five women in Florida bank

Judge to decide fate of ex-prison guard trainee Zephen Xaver, who pleaded guilty to 2019 execution-style murders

A jury on Wednesday recommended a former prison guard trainee be sentenced to death for his execution-style murders of five women inside a Florida bank five years ago.

Jurors voted 9-3 to recommend Zephen Xaver, 27, receive the death penalty for the 23 January 2019 murders at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 85 miles (135km) south-east of Tampa.

The final decision rests with circuit judge Angela Cowden, who could reject the jury’s recommendation and sentence Xaver to life in prison without parole. She said she will set a sentencing date after a hearing next month.

Xaver pleaded guilty last year to five counts of first-degree murder, negating a planned trial that was delayed for years by the Covid-19 pandemic, legal arguments and attorney illness.

Xaver’s victims included customer Cynthia Watson, 65; bank teller coordinator Marisol Lopez, 55; banker trainee Ana Pinon-Williams, 38; bank teller Debra Cook, 54; and banker Jessica Montague, 31.

He ordered them to lie on the floor and then shot them each in the head as they cried out: “Why?”

Earlier on Wednesday, prosecutor Bonde Johnson said in closing arguments that Xaver deserved the death penalty because the massacre was long-planned, “shockingly evil” and fulfilled his years-long desire to experience killing.

But defense attorney Jane McNeill had urged jurors to spare Xaver, saying he was mentally ill and had been hearing voices since childhood urging him to kill himself and others. He sought help, she said, but never truly got it.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors portrayed Xaver as a cold and calculated killer who pretended to hear voices to cover for his violent impulses. His attorneys countered he has long experienced psychotic episodes.

The morning of the killings, Xaver had a long text message conversation with a girlfriend, telling her it would be the “best day of his life” but refused to say why.

He finally told her just before entering the bank that he was about to die. He then added “the fun part”.

“I’m taking a few people with me because I’ve always wanted to kill,” he texted.

Afterward, Xaver threatened to kill himself but eventually surrendered.

Defense witnesses testified Xaver was a quiet, kind child, but struggled in school and then took a dark turn in adolescence.

Melissa Manges, his high school counselor, testified Xaver wanted more extensive help for his disturbing thoughts, but no long-term residential programs accepted him.

“The system failed Zephen,” she said.

Brian Haas, the local state attorney, welcomed the verdict but said in his statement that the focus should be on the victims, “not the monster who committed these crimes”.

“Five women, who were mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and so much more to so many people, had their lives cut short on that fateful day in January 2019. Their families have suffered so much without them while they waited for justice,” he said.

Source: theguardian.com, The Associated Press, June 27, 2024

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