Florida | Tampa man faces death penalty after stabbing girlfriend 65 times: State Attorney

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The state will seek the death penalty against a Tampa man charged with first-degree murder and accused of stabbing his girlfriend 65 times, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said.

State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court Suzy Lopez told 8 On Your Side the aggravating factors that are necessary for the death penalty are present in this case.

“The state legislature gives us enumerated aggravators. And here in this case, this crime was perpetrated in a very heinous, atrocious, and cruel way. Those are actually the words the legislature has given us,” she said.

Lopez said another aggravating factor was that the stabbing happened during the course of an alleged kidnapping.

“We have evidence to believe that Amanda was trying to escape, was trying to get out of that townhouse when she was stabbed 65 times by this defendant,” she said.

Kyle Sanchez, 36, called police the afternoon of Friday, June 19, and admitted to killing the victim, 37-year-old Amanda Roark.

Minutes earlier, Roark called 911 herself and could be heard begging Sanchez for her life as he attacked her.

“Please stop, you’re killing me,” the victim was heard saying, according to court documents.

When police arrived at the Tampa home, Sanchez opened the door covered in Roark’s blood, and she was pronounced dead with approximately 65 stab wounds.

Lopez says whether the defense brings up Sanchez’s military service or lack of a prior record, it doesn’t take away what he’s accused of.

“This is not something where it’s one stab wound, one gun shot. This is over 65 stab wounds. He had plenty of time to stop and think what he was doing,” she said.

Lopez said Sanchez is due in court August 6th for a status review.

Source: wfla.com, Sophia Fanning, July 20, 2026

"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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