Florida re-seeks death penalty for killers in 2006 Turnpike slaying after Biden clemency

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Nearly two decades after a Palm Beach County family was executed along the side of Florida’s Turnpike, state prosecutors are seeking to reimpose the death penalty on the two men convicted of the killings.

The effort comes after former President Joe Biden commuted their federal death sentences in the final days of his administration.

In the waning days of his presidency, Biden commuted the death penalty sentences against nearly all federal inmates on death row, including two men condemned for a quadruple killing in St. Lucie County. The move sparked an uproar from law enforcement nationwide.

Among the prisoners granted clemency were Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., and Daniel Troya, the two men convicted in the 2006 Turnpike killings of a mother, father, and their two young children. Just four and three years old at the time, the boys died wrapped in their mother’s arms.

“They were not wrapped up, but you could see they were embracing,” former St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said at the time. “The mother was embracing the children.”

“The image of the mother holding those two little babies while they shot and killed them is embedded in my head,” said John MacVeigh, a former federal investigator. “You're never going to not see that again.”

The murders happened early in the morning of October 13, 2006, when the Sanchez and Troya stopped the family’s Jeep Cherokee along the Turnpike, near Port St. Lucie. Our Sky12 captured the crime scene, showing a blue tent covering four body bags off the Turnpike.

Each family member – Jose Luis Escobedo, Luis Damian Escobedo, Luis Julian Escobedo, and Yessica Guerro Escobedo – was shot, and their bodies were left there. Sanchez and Troya drove off, taking both their Dodge Ram van and the Escobedos’ black Jeep Cherokee.

“This case left a lasting scar on our community,” Sheriff Richard Del Toro recalled. “We owe it to the Escobedo family and the public to pursue every available legal avenue to deliver justice. My office stands ready to support this mission in full.”

“With the federal death sentence no longer in effect, we believe the pursuit of justice now rests with the State of Florida,” State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl argued. “My office is committed to ensuring that the sentence ultimately reflects the gravity of this crime.”

After the murders, a search of the family’s home led investigators to suspect Jose Luis Escobedo was involved in cocaine trafficking. They soon linked Escobedo to Sanchez and Troya, along with a third person, identified as Danny Varela.

After obtaining a search warrant for the three men’s West Palm Beach home, law enforcement officers discovered more than a kilogram of cocaine, approximately 30 grams of crack cocaine, and 30 tablets of ecstasy. Along with the drugs, investigators found more than a dozen guns, including handguns, rifles, and shotguns.

Following the discovery, all three men were arrested in connection with the drugs and guns, as well as two others, identified as Liana Lopez and Jose Gutierrez, respectively.

In May 2009, Sanchez and Troya were convicted on 11 charges, that included the four counts of causing the deaths of the Escobedo family. That day they were given life in prison and five years of supervised release. Additionally, they were sentenced to be executed – that is, until Biden stepped in.

Prosecutors plans

Next week, Bakkedahl and Del Toro will reveal a new push to begin pursuing state-level capital charges with the expressed aim of obtaining new death penalty convictions.

“The calculated and unspeakably violent murders of the Escobedo family demand the highest level of accountability,” Bakkedahl added.

Under Florida law, murder has no statute of limitations, and defendants can be prosecuted in both state and federal court for the same crime under the concept of dual sovereignty.

MacVeigh, who regularly monitored Troya during his time in custody, says justice demands a second attempt.

“If there is, quote-unquote, the role model case for the death penalty, it was this one,” MacVeigh said. “They’ll try to argue double jeopardy, but that doesn’t apply here. I hope a jury sees this for the horrific crime it was—and imposes the death penalty again.”

The State Attorney’s Office will initiate proceedings against the convicted killers, while the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office will offer investigators and resources to ensure prosecutors have what they need if the case goes to trial.

“Where is the justice for the Escobedo family that was murdered in cold blood?”

That was the question then-St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson asked after learning of the commutations. Starting next Tuesday, he may have his answer.

Source: cw34.com, Nick Viviani, Katie Bente, May 23, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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