Leo Kaczmar was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Maria Ruiz. According to court documents Leo Kaczmar would go over to the home of his fathers girlfriend where he would attempt to sexually assault the woman before stabbing her repeatedly and setting her home on fire. Leo Kaczmar was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Leo Kaczmar 2021 Information
| DC Number: | J20499 |
|---|---|
| Name: | KACZMAR, LEO L III |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 12/18/1983 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 11/15/2010 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Leo Kaczmar More News
A second Clay County jury has recommended that Leo Louis Kaczmar III go to Death Row for killing his father’s girlfriend.
Kaczmar, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder in the December 2008 stabbing of 49-year-old Mary Ruiz at least 50 times before setting a fire to conceal the crime. He also was convicted of arson and attempted sexual battery.
He was sentenced to death, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered Kaczmar resentenced.
The attempted sexual battery conviction was thrown out because the medical examiner found no evidence on Ruiz’s body. Kaczmar told a friend earlier in the night that he was hoping to get Ruiz high on drugs so he could have sex with her, but that circumstantial evidence wasn’t enough to justify a conviction, the Supreme Court ruling said.
Since the attempted sexual battery was cited by prosecutors as an aggravating factor in why Kaczmar deserved death, the death sentence must be thrown out and a new sentencing hearing held, the ruling said.
Tuesday another jury unanimously recommended Kaczmar be executed instead of life in prison.
Circuit Judge William Wilkes will decide whether to follow the jury’s recommendation at a later date. Wilkes is the same judge that put Kaczmar on Death Row before.
