May 2021 | Page 13 of 26 | My Crime Library

Jeffrey Muehleman Florida Death Row

Jeffrey Muehleman was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder and robbery of ninety seven year old Earl Baughman. According to court documents Jeffrey Muehleman was working for Earl Baughman when he decided to rob and murder the elderly man. Earl Baughman would die from suffocation after plastic was shoved down his throat. Jeffrey Muehlman was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Florida Death Row Inmate List

Jeffrey Muehleman 2021 Information

DC Number:	094506
Name:	MUEHLEMAN, JEFFREY A
Race:	WHITE
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	10/31/1964
Initial Receipt Date:	07/17/1984
Current Facility:	UNION C.I.
Current Custody:	MAXIMUM
Current Release Date:	DEATH SENTENCE

Jeffrey Muehleman More News

Earl Baughman, the 97-year-old victim, hired Muehleman as a helper on May 2, 1983. Muehleman posed himself as Jeff Williams. By the afternoon of May 4, 1983, Muehleman had made a decision to rob and murder the victim. He asked an acquaintance for help with the robbery and in disposing of the body. On the evening of May 4, 1983, when this acquaintance did not show up, Muehleman decided to go through with the crime himself. He set the kitchen table with two almost empty coffee cups and spread breadcrumbs on the table. These actions were an attempt to create the illusion that the two had eaten breakfast and then gone out for a ride in the victim’s car. Muehleman then proceeded to wipe down the residence to eliminate his fingerprints. Muehleman used a cast iron frying pan to repeatedly hit the victim, who was asleep in his bed. These blows did not kill the victim, so Muehleman attempted to strangle the victim, but Muehleman was unable to restrict the blood flow to the brain. The victim lay in his bed helpless and looking at Muehleman in the face and was conscious long enough to beg his attacker for mercy. Muehleman then removed the plastic wrappers from two newspapers and shoved them into the victim’s throat. The bags indicated that the victim was still breathing so Muehleman forced them deeper into the victim’s throat.

The victim eventually died. Muehleman then stole $150 and other items from the victim. He wrapped his body in the bloody bedcovers and put it in the trunk of the victim’s car. Muehleman returned to the garage where he was living and hid the cash and other items that he had stolen. He then returned to the victim’s residence and burned, some of the bloody linens along with the victim’s identification in a barrel in the back yard. He then wiped down the car to rid it of fingerprints and drove it to a nearby apartment complex where he abandoned it. Suspicion surrounded the victim’s disappearance because he did not drive. On May 6, 1983, a witness told police that he had seen the car that had been described in a broadcast in front of the garage where Muehleman lived. A police officer went to the garage to question Muehleman; he was told that Muehleman was not home but would return shortly. Upon leaving the garage, the police officer spotted Muehleman who saw the police car and proceeded to cover his face.

The officer grabbed him by the arm and inquired about his name; Muehleman responded with “Ed Buchanan”. The witness’s identification of Muehleman as Jeff, resulted in Muehleman being arrested on obstruction of justice charges due to providing false information to the officer. Muehleman agreed to talk to the police and denied any involvement in the victim’s disappearance. He did indicate that he had taken some items without the victim’s permission.

On May 9, 1983, Muehleman invoked his right to remain silent. On May 15, 1983, the body was found in the trunk of the car. Muehleman still proclaimed his innocence to authorities, but had approached a fellow inmate, Ronald Rewis, and began discussing the murder. Rewis agreed to work with the authorities and taped conversations that he had with Muehleman. On June 8, 1983, Muehleman requested an interview with the authorities at which time he was informed of the evidence against him and he confessed. He was booked on first-degree murder on the same day. On June 10, 1983 he gave his final statement. Subsequently, Muehleman moved to suppress these statements and the physical evidence. The motion was denied, and Muehleman pled guilty.

Muehleman was re-sentenced to death in Pinellas County on October 10, 2003.

Gregory Kokal Florida Death Row

Gregory Kokal was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Jeffrey Russell. According to court documents Gregory Kokal and William O’Kelly picked up Jeffrey Russell while he was hitchhiking. The victim was driven to a remote location where he would be fatally beaten and robbed. Gregory Kokal would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Florida Death Row Inmate List

Gregory Kokal 2021 Information

DC Number:	072002
Name:	KOKAL, GREGORY A
Race:	WHITE
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	02/27/1963
Initial Receipt Date:	11/14/1984
Current Facility:	UNION C.I.
Current Custody:	MAXIMUM
Current Release Date:	DEATH SENTENCE

Gregory Kokal More News

The awful facts of the murder, as elicited at trial, are these. At 7:15 a.m. on the morning of September 30, 1983, navy diver Robert Garon was jogging at the Hanna Park Recreational Facility near Jacksonville, Florida, when he discovered a body lying on the beach. There was a pool of blood under the victim’s head, and a broken cue stick lay near the body. After police were called to the scene, they discovered, on the park exit road, a wallet and a Naval Identification Card, identifying the victim as Jeffrey Russell, a sailor stationed at Mayport, a Naval base outside of Jacksonville.

The police initially believed that Russell had been beaten to death. An autopsy later revealed, however, that a gunshot was the cause of death, but this information was intentionally restricted to the doctor performing the autopsy and to investigating personnel. The autopsy further revealed that Russell had suffered multiple blunt impacts to the head. The victim also suffered multiple welt marks on the back of his forearm, multiple abrasions and contusions on his knuckles, a dislocated right ring finger, and multiple abrasions on his back. The medical examiner testified that based on these wounds, Russell was alive and tried to defend himself at the time they were inflicted.

As fate would have it, on the morning Russell’s body was discovered, Jacksonville police officer David Mahn stopped a 1975 Ford pickup truck with Arizona tags because the driver had driven away from a gas station without paying for the gas. Petitioner Kokal was the only occupant of the truck. When asked for identification, Kokal produced his own Florida driver’s license, a Colorado driver’s license belonging to William O’Kelly, and a New York driver’s license belonging to the victim, Jeffrey Russell. Inside the truck the officer found a Reuger .357 revolver, which was later determined to have Kokal’s fingerprints on it and identified as the weapon used to murder Russell. At the time of Kokal’s traffic stop, however, Officer Mahn did not make any connection between Kokal and Jeffrey Russell’s murder. As a result, after Officer Mahn arrested Kokal for petit theft of the gasoline, Kokal was released on his own recognizance.

That evening, Kokal was visited by a friend, Eugene Mosley, while Kokal was packing his truck to leave town. Kokal told Mosley that he and his companion, William O’Kelly, were going to Canada because Kokal had killed a man. Kokal explained that he and O’Kelly had beaten Russell with a pool cue, and both had beaten and kicked Russell after he was lying on the beach, but that Kokal had actually shot Russell in the head. In describing the murder to Mosley, Kokal said that the “guy wouldn’t ․ hardly go down,” and at one point, the victim was on his knees and pleaded for his life, saying “please don’t kill me, don’t kill me.” Nevertheless, they “just kept beating him” and “finally got him on the ground and they continued to kick him and beat on him.” Then Kokal “just ․ took a gun and held it to [the victim’s] head and shot him.”

Kokal told Mosley that “he wasn’t worried about [fingerprints being found on the pool cue] because there was enough sand there and that sand will keep them from getting any fingerprints on any object.” Kokal further surmised that “he was so close [when he shot Russell] and the bullet would have gone straight through his head and into the sand.” According to Mosley, Kokal “didn’t seem like it really bothered him that he did it.” Indeed, when Mosley asked Kokal why he had shot the victim, Kokal offered this explanation: “dead men can’t tell lies.” Kokal admitted that the purpose of the attack had been to rob the victim, and that he had “wasted a guy ․ over a dollar.” Kokal also told Mosley that “he was going to go get another Sailor before he left town so that they would have money to leave town on.”

On October 5, 1983, Eugene Mosley called the police to report that he had information about someone having been shot in the head at the beach. The police determined that they needed to talk to Mosley since “nobody” would have known that Russell was shot in the head “but the person who did it.” After speaking to Mosley, the police obtained an arrest warrant for Kokal and arrested him.

On October 20, 1983, Kokal was indicted and charged with the first degree murder of Jeffrey Russell. Kokal’s testimony at trial was largely consistent with the facts of the murder detailed by Mosley-that Kokal and O’Kelly had picked up a hitchhiker, Russell, who was struck with a pistol and Kokal’s pool cue, robbed, marched down a beach where he was again beaten with the pool cue, and then killed with a single shot from a .357 revolver. However, Kokal testified that it was his companion, O’Kelly, who actually beat, robbed, and shot the victim. Kokal admitted to being present during the murder, but denied any involvement in the homicide.

O’Kelly, on behalf of the government, also testified.¹ O’Kelly said that he had been with Kokal on the night of the murder, and that after they picked up Russell, the three of them had stopped to smoke marijuana, and then drove into Hanna Park. Once they were at the park, O’Kelly left to use the restroom, and upon his return, he saw Kokal hit Russell over the head with a pistol, and heard Kokal instruct Russell to hand over his wallet. O’Kelly then told Russell to give Kokal the wallet, so that “he would be on his way and we would be on our way.” Instead, O’Kelly watched as Kokal made Russell walk down the beach, and a few minutes later, as Kokal beat Russell over the head with a cue stick. O’Kelly told Kokal that “there ain’t no need for that” and that he was leaving. After he started to walk away, O’Kelly heard a gunshot, turned around, and saw that Kokal had a pistol in his hand. Next, O’Kelly and Kokal ran to the truck and left. O’Kelly further testified that Kokal had brought up the subject of robbery three or four times before the night of the murder.² On October 4, 1984, the jury found petitioner Kokal guilty of first degree murder

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1541440.html

Norman McKenzie Florida Death Row

Norman McKenzie was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murders of 49-year-old Randy Peacock and 64-year-old Charles Johnston. According to court documents Norman McKenzie would attack and murder Randy Peacock and Charles Johnson with a hatchet; Norman McKenzie would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Florida Death Row Inmate List

Norman McKenzie 2021 Information

DC Number:	648711
Name:	MCKENZIE, NORMAN B
Race:	WHITE
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	07/08/1964
Initial Receipt Date:	11/27/1984
Current Facility:	UNION C.I.
Current Custody:	MAXIMUM
Current Release Date:	DEATH SENTENCE

Norman McKenzie More News

The evidence presented at trial established that on October 5, 2006, two Flagler Hospital employees became concerned when Randy Peacock, a respiratory therapist at the hospital, did not report to work. The two employees drove to the home that Peacock shared with Charles Johnston. Upon their arrival, they noticed that Peacock’s vehicle, a green convertible, was not there. When the employees entered the residence, they found Peacock lying face down on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. When deputies from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) arrived, they secured the scene and subsequently located the body of Charles Johnston in a shed that was also located on the property. While processing the crime scene, law enforcement officers located a hatchet inside the shed that appeared to have blood on its blade and handle. A butcher knife was found in the kitchen sink. Deputies observed a gold sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the driveway and determined that it was registered to Norman Blake McKenzie.

The deputies subsequently spoke with a neighbor of the victims. The neighbor stated that on October 4, 2006, he went to the victims’ home to assist Johnston with repairs on his vehicle. When the neighbor first arrived, Johnston was not there but Peacock was present and was speaking with a man whom the neighbor later identified in a photo lineup as McKenzie. The neighbor confirmed that he saw Peacock speaking with McKenzie between 4:30 and 7 p.m., and that he also observed a gold SUV in the driveway. The neighbor departed the victims’ residence before dark.

McKenzie subsequently had an encounter with a Citrus County sheriff’s deputy during which Randy Peacock’s wallet was recovered from one of McKenzie’s pockets. Further, Charles Johnston’s wallet was located in a vehicle that McKenzie had recently operated. McKenzie agreed to speak with SJSO deputies on two separate occasions during which he confessed to the murders of Peacock and Johnston.

McKenzie explained that he went to the victims’ residence on October 4, 2006, to borrow money from Johnston because of his drug addiction. When he first arrived, only Peacock and the neighbor were present; however, Johnston returned home around dusk. The neighbor left after briefly speaking with Johnston, and at some point, Peacock went inside the residence. McKenzie then asked Johnston for a hammer and a piece of wood so that he could knock some “dings” out of the door of his SUV. Johnston could not locate a hammer and gave McKenzie a hatchet. While walking into the shed to locate a piece of wood, McKenzie struck Johnston in the head with the blade side of the hatchet. Johnston fell to the floor and McKenzie struck him again. McKenzie then entered the home, approached Peacock, who was cooking in the kitchen, and struck him with the hammer side of the hatchet approximately two times.

McKenzie returned to the shed, and when he observed that Johnston was still alive, he struck Johnston one or more times with the hatchet. McKenzie removed Johnston’s wallet from his pocket, placed the hatchet on top of a bucket inside the shed, and re-entered the residence. McKenzie observed that Peacock was struggling to stand up, so he grabbed a knife and stabbed Peacock multiple times. McKenzie then placed the knife in the sink, took Peacock’s wallet and car keys, and departed in Peacock’s vehicle.

An autopsy conducted on Randy Peacock revealed that the cause of his death was six stab wounds which caused extensive bleeding, with a contributory cause of blunt-force trauma to the head. The stab wounds suffered by Peacock were consistent with the knife found in the kitchen sink and the blunt-force trauma was consistent with the hammer side of the hatchet that was recovered from the shed. An autopsy conducted on Charles Johnston revealed that the cause of his death was extensive head trauma due to the infliction of four “chop” wounds. The trauma to Johnston’s skull was consistent with the blade side of the hatchet that was recovered from the shed.

During a pretrial hearing, McKenzie expressed frustration with his court-appointed counsel because his right to a speedy trial had been waived without first consulting with him. When defense counsel sought a continuance on the basis that more time was needed to prepare for trial, McKenzie objected. McKenzie insisted that he was ready and wanted to proceed as expeditiously as possible. As a result, defense counsel moved to withdraw. The trial court, based upon McKenzie’s assertion that he was ready to proceed, denied the motion and scheduled a trial date.

During a second pretrial hearing, defense counsel again moved for a continuance, asserting that additional time was necessary to prepare for trial and to investigate mitigation. McKenzie again expressed frustration with his court-appointed counsel, stating that they had requested his medical records even though he had specifically advised them that he did not want this action taken. When the trial court recommended that McKenzie listen to his attorneys’ assertion that more time was required to properly prepare for trial, McKenzie responded that he did not need the assistance of counsel. Based upon this statement, the trial court scheduled a Faretta¹ inquiry.

During the Faretta hearing, when asked by the trial court why he wanted to represent himself, McKenzie replied that he was ready for trial and did not need attorneys to prepare any sort of mitigation on his behalf. McKenzie also expressed the belief that he possessed sufficient intelligence to represent himself. With regard to his desire to proceed to trial as quickly as possible, McKenzie stated that he did not wish to subject his mother, his fiancée, or the victims’ families to an extended trial, and that he thought a protracted trial would be a waste of taxpayer funds.

When the trial court asked McKenzie why he wanted to discharge his court-appointed counsel, McKenzie replied that they insisted upon taking actions with which he disagreed. Defense counsel agreed that McKenzie’s displeasure with them arose from a difference of opinion with regard to trial strategy. After conducting a Faretta inquiry, the trial court concluded that McKenzie was competent to waive counsel and that his waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. The trial court allowed McKenzie to represent himself but appointed standby counsel with McKenzie’s approval.

During the guilt phase of the trial, McKenzie admitted that he went to the victims’ home on October 4 with the intention of taking their money. McKenzie also admitted that he hit both Johnston and Peacock with the hatchet and stabbed Peacock with a knife. After the State rested its case, McKenzie stated that he would not offer any witness testimony and further declined to testify on his own behalf. On August 21, 2007, the jury found McKenzie guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-supreme-court/1496858.html

Joe Nixon Florida Death Row

Joe Nixon was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the kidnapping and murder of Jeanne Bickner. According to court documents Joe Nixon kidnapped Jeanne Bickner from a Florida shopping center. Jeanne Bickner would be driven to a remote location where she was tied to a tree and set on fire. Joe Nixon would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Florida Death Row Inmate List

Joe Nixon 2021 Information

DC Number:	910610
Name:	NIXON, JOE E
Race:	BLACK
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	08/23/1961
Initial Receipt Date:	11/30/1984
Current Facility:	UNION C.I.
Current Custody:	MAXIMUM
Current Release Date:	DEATH SENTENCE

Joe Nixon More News

Jeanne Bickner is kidnapped, tied to a tree, and set on fire

Bickner had met Joe Elton Nixon in a mall parking lot when he asked for help jumpstarting his car. When they were unsuccessful, Bickner offered Nixon a ride home. During the trip, Nixon forced Bickner to a remote location and tied her to two pine trees with jumper cables. According to his confession, Nixon strangled Bickner before lighting her body on fire. The medical examiner in charge of Bickner’s case, however, determined she had died as a result of the burns. He then stole Bickner’s car.

Bickner’s charred remains were discovered the next day, her body found in a seated position with jumper cables tied around her waist connecting her to one tree while her left arm was tied to another. Bickner’s stolen car was found August 14, also set on fire.

Nixon confessed the murder to his brother and girlfriend who then notified police. Evidence linking him to the murder included Nixon’s palm print on Bickner’s trunk and a receipt from a pawn shop for two of Bickner’s stolen rings.

At trial, Nixon’s attorneys did not try to establish his innocence but rather argued as to why he didn’t deserve the death penalty, hoping the confession would stir sympathy within the jurors. The tactic was unsuccessful and Nixon was found guilty and sentenced to death. He is currently on death row.

https://horrorhistory.net/2018/08/12/woman-abducted-restrained-and-set-on-fire-after-robbery/

Richard Rhodes Florida Death Row

Richard Rhodes was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Karen Nieradka. According to court documents Richard Rhodes would murder Karen Nieradka by strangulating the woman and putting her body in a debris site. Two weeks later her body would be found. Richard Rhodes would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Florida Death Row Inmate List

Richard Rhodes 2021 Information

DC Number:	099269
Name:	RHODES, RICHARD W
Race:	WHITE
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	10/03/1953
Initial Receipt Date:	09/17/1985
Current Facility:	UNION C.I.
Current Custody:	MAXIMUM
Current Release Date:	DEATH SENTENCE

Richard Rhodes More News

Rhodes was convicted of first-degree murder for the manual-strangulation death of a woman, later identified as Karen Nieradka. The facts of the crime, as we have previously described them, are briefly summarized here.¹ Nieradka’s decomposing body was found on March 24, 1984, in debris being used to construct a berm in St. Petersburg. The debris came from a hotel in Clearwater, which had been demolished nine days earlier. The cause of death was determined to be manual strangulation, causing the hyoid bone in Nieradka’s neck to break. Although the only clothing found on her body was a brassiere around her neck, no physical evidence of sexual battery was found.

On March 2, 1984, the Florida Highway Patrol stopped Rhodes in Hernando County; he was driving a car registered to the victim. After the body was identified, Rhodes was questioned and ultimately arrested for the murder. During the various interviews, Rhodes gave different and sometimes conflicting statements, ultimately claiming that the victim died accidentally when she fell from the third floor of the Sunset Hotel.

During the original trial, three of Rhodes’s former cellmates at the Pinellas County Jail testified that Rhodes admitted killing the victim. The jury found Rhodes guilty of first-degree murder and recommended that he be sentenced to death. The trial judge followed the recommendation. On appeal, we affirmed the conviction.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-supreme-court/1474895.html