Duane Owen was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the sexual assault and murders of two women in two separate attacks. According to court documents Duane Owen would sexually assault and murder teenager Karen Slattery in March 1984 and would sexually assault and murder Georgianna Worden on May 29, 1984. Duane Owen would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Attorneys for a man convicted of two heinous murders in the 1980s and sentenced to death are fighting to save his life.
“Duane Owen is nothing more than a cowardly, misogynistic bully who preys on people he knows he can overcome,” the state argued before a judge inside a Palm Beach County courtroom on Monday.
Decades after juries convicted him and judges sentenced him to death for two murders in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, Duane Owen wants to get off of death row.
Attorneys are trying to now use a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court ruling to vacate Owen’s death sentence for the gruesome rape and murders of 14-year-old babysitter Karen Slattery and 38 year-old single mother Georgianna Worden.
Owen’s attorney argues juries in both cases were split 10-2 when recommending death for Owen and the judges had the final say. Florida law now requires a unanimous verdict for the death penalty.
“At the end of the day, Mr. Owens was denied his rights in both cases,” attorney James Driscoll argued. “We would ask for the court to grant relief in both cases.”
“It disgusts me, that’s how I feel. It disgusts me to think that we have to go there,” said Jane Smith, who was one of Slattery’s teachers. “Just pray for the family. It’s been a heartache. You can’t bring her back if you execute him but there’s got to be closure, somewhere.”
The judge didn’t indicate when he’ll rule or how long it could take.
Matthew Marshall was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for a prison murder. According to court documents Matthew Marshall would murder fellow inmate Jeffrey Henry at the Martin Correctional Institute in 1988. Matthew Marshall would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Marshall and the victim, Jeffrey Henry, were both incarcerated at the Martin Correction Institute on November 1, 1988, when witnesses heard muffled screams and moans emanating from Henry’s cell and observed Marshall exiting the cell with what appeared to be blood on his chest and arms. Within a few minutes, Marshall reentered the cell, and similar noises were heard. After the cell became quiet, Marshall again emerged with blood on his person. Henry was found dead, lying in his cell facedown with his hands bound behind his back and his sweat pants pulled down around his ankles to restrain his legs. Death was caused by blows to the back of his head.
Manolo Rodriguez was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murders of three people during a robbery. According to court document Manolo Rodriguez and Luis Rodriguez would force their way into a home and during the course of a robbery shoot and kill three people. The crimes went unsolved for a number of years until police had enough evidence to charge and arrest Manolo Rodriguez who would be convicted and sentenced to death
Aliases = ANTHONY M. RIDRIGUE, ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, ANTHONY M. RODRIGUEZ, MANDO RODRIGUEZ, MANDO ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, MANOLD RODRIGUEZ, MANOLO RODRIGUEZ, MANUEL A. RODRIGUEZ, MANUEL ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, ROBIO MANUEL RODRIGUEZ, RODRIGUE MANOL RODRIGUEZ, MANUEL RODRIQUEZ, ANTONIO TRAVES
Manolo Rodriguez More News
Manuel and Luis Rodriguez were both charged with armed burglary and three counts of first-degree murder. In exchange for his testimony at Manuel’s trial, Luis was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree murder, for which he received a life sentence. Although they both have the same last name, Manuel and Luis are not related by blood. At the time of the crimes, Manuel lived with Luis’s sister, Maria Malakoff, who was also known as “Cookie.”
Manuel Rodriguez was convicted based on the following facts presented at trial. In December 1984, Bea Joseph, Sam Joseph, and Genevieve Abraham were found murdered in a Miami apartment building. The Josephs lived in the apartment in which they were found, and Sam Joseph was the apartment complex landlord. Abraham was visiting the Josephs at the time of the crimes. When Abraham was found, her wedding band, diamond watch, and diamond earrings were missing. There was no sign of forced entry into the apartment, but the apartment was in disarray. Apparently, each victim died quickly from gunshot wounds to the head, which were inflicted from shots fired at close range.
Law enforcement officers were unable to obtain enough evidence to solve these crimes until 1993. However, Manuel Rodriguez was suspected of involvement in the crimes soon after they occurred because of several calls he made to the police. In July 1985, police were contacted by a “tipster,” who identified himself as Antonio Chait. The informant told them that on the night of the murders, he was living in the apartment complex where the murders occurred and he saw two males, one of whom he knew, running from the area near the Josephs’ apartment. The tip was found to be without merit, and police determined that the informant was actually Rodriguez. Again, in November 1985, Rodriguez contacted police, identifying himself as Antonio Traves. He told police that on the night of the murders, he saw a man named Geraldo leaving the Josephs’ apartment. That story could not be confirmed. Police were suspicious of Rodriguez but received no further leads until 1992.
In 1992, Rafael Lopez, Luis Rodriguez’s brother-in-law, contacted police, hoping to get the reward that had been posted for information about the murders. Lopez told police that Luis had confided to him that Luis and Manuel Rodriguez committed the murders. He stated that Luis told him that he and Manuel went to the Josephs’ apartment to rob them and that they killed two old ladies and an old man. Thereafter, police contacted Luis, who eventually gave a formal confession, in which he implicated both himself and Manuel. The next day Manuel was questioned and arrested. Manuel gave numerous conflicting accounts of his activities at the time of the murders. In all but his final statement to police, he denied any involvement in the murders. Finally, he admitted involvement but contended that the robbery and murders were committed by Luis and Luis’s brother Isidoro, and that he had simply acted as a lookout.
Luis Rodriguez testified against Manuel Rodriguez at trial. His trial testimony was somewhat different from his original confession. At trial, Luis testified that in 1984 he was living in Orlando. He stated that Manuel called him and asked if he was interested in making money by assisting Manuel in committing a robbery. Manuel told Luis that Luis would be the lookout and that Manuel would do all of the work. Luis flew to Miami and met Manuel. They went to the Josephs’ apartment; Manuel knocked on the door and told Sam Joseph that Malakoff and the children were being held hostage and that they would be released only if the Josephs gave him money. Manuel then forced himself into the apartment. Luis followed and shut the door.
In his initial confession, Luis Rodriguez stated that he shot Abraham through a pillow; that he shot at two people; that he had ingested cocaine and marijuana before the homicides; and that Manuel Rodriguez shot the Josephs after he shot Abraham.
Once inside the apartment, Manuel, who had brought two pairs of rubber gloves with him, put on one pair and told Luis to wear the other pair and not to touch anything in the apartment without the gloves. Sam Joseph offered to get money from the bedroom, but Manuel instructed Luis to look there instead. Luis found a gun in the Josephs’ bedroom, and Manuel became angry with Sam Joseph because he thought the offer to get money from the bedroom was actually a ruse to get the gun. Eventually, during the course of the crime, Manuel shot both Sam and Bea Joseph with a gun he had brought with him and then he ordered Luis to shoot Abraham with the gun Luis had found in the Josephs’ bedroom. Because Luis was scared, he did as he was told and then he fled. He stated that he did not receive any of the proceeds from the crime and flew back to Orlando the next day.
Luis’s brother, Isidoro, also testified at trial. He provided documentation that he was working in another city at the time of the crimes. He also stated that, soon after the murders, his mother contacted him to tell him that she had found coins and jewelry in a bag under her trailer and that Manuel and Malakoff had shown up looking for it. Isidoro stated that he was aware of the murders in the building and that he took the bag back to Orlando, where he threw it into a field. Isidoro’s mother also testified and confirmed Isidoro’s story.
Malakoff testified that she and Manuel had two children, one of whom died in 1984. She stated that members of her family did not like her or Manuel. She also said that Manuel was not angry with Sam Joseph at the time of the murders and that she did not believe that Manuel was involved in the murders. The State impeached her testimony through her sworn statement to the police in 1993, in which she said that Manuel had been angry with Sam Joseph and on the day of the murders had called him a son-of-a-bitch. Additionally, in her pretrial statement, she said that Manuel told her he killed Sam Joseph when Joseph reached for a gun; that he had made sure that Luis killed Abraham; and that Manuel made sure they were all dead.
Manuel Rodriguez was convicted as charged. The following evidence was presented during the penalty phase.
Harold Harvey was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murders of William and Ruby Boyd, According to court documents Harold Harvey and Harry Scott Stitler arrived at the home of William and Ruby Boyd armed with an assault rifle, when the Boyd’s attempted to run they were shot and killed. Harold Harvey was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
On February 23, 1985, Harold Lee Harvey met with Scott Stiteler, his codefendant at trial, and drove to the home of William and Ruby Boyd, intending to rob them. Upon their arrival, Stiteler knocked on the front door. In the meantime, Harvey grabbed Mrs. Boyd as she was walking around from the side of the house and took her into the house where Mr. Boyd was located. Harvey had a pistol and Stiteler was holding Harvey’s AR-15 rifle which had recently been converted into an automatic weapon. Harvey and Stiteler told the Boyds they needed money. Mr. Boyd then went into the bedroom and got his wallet. Sometime during the course of the robbery, Harvey and Stiteler exchanged guns so that Harvey now had possession of the automatic weapon. After getting the money from the Boyds, Harvey and Stiteler discussed what they were going to do with the victims and decided they would have to kill them. Sensing their impending danger, the Boyds tried to run, but Harvey fired his gun, striking them both. Mr. Boyd apparently died instantly. Harvey left the Boyds’ home but reentered to retrieve the gun shells. Upon hearing Mrs. Boyd moaning in pain, he shot her in the head at point blank range. Harvey and Stiteler then left and threw their weapons away along the roadway.
On February 27, 1985, Harvey was stopped for a driving infraction in Okeechobee County and subsequently placed under arrest for the Boyds’ murders. He was read his Miranda rights at that time. He was then transported to the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Department and again read the Miranda warning. Harvey was questioned and interrogated, and after speaking with his wife, gave a statement in which he admitted his involvement in the Boyds’ murders
Kenneth Stewart was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Mark Harris. According to court documents Kenneth Stewart was picked up hitch hiking by Mark Harris and Michele Acosta. When they reached the location Kenneth Stewart would shoot both Mark Harris and Michele Acosta killing Harris and injuring Acosta. Kenneth Stewart would steal the vehicle and would later set it on fire. Kenneth Stewart would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
In April 1985, Michele Acosta and Mark Harris picked up appellant, Kenneth Stewart, while he was hitchhiking. When Acosta stopped to drop Stewart off, he struck her on the head with the butt of a gun and fired three shots, hitting Acosta in the shoulder and Harris in the spine. Stewart then forced Acosta and Harris from the car before driving off and picking up a friend, Terry Smith. The two removed items from the car’s trunk and Stewart burned the car after telling Smith that the car belonged to a woman and man whom he had shot. Acosta recovered from her injuries; Harris later died.
Stewart was arrested and ultimately charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery, and arson. He consented to a search of his apartment, which yielded the items he and Smith had taken from Acosta’s car. When shown a photopack display of suspects, Harris, who had not yet expired, and Acosta identified Stewart as the assailant. Acosta also identified Stewart in person at a preliminary hearing. While in jail, Stewart telephoned his grandparents. Detective Lease, who was visiting the grandparents, obtained their permission to secretly listen in on an extension. Via pretrial motions, Stewart sought to suppress the identifications made by Acosta and Harris, and the telephone conversation overheard by Lease. The court excluded the identification made by Harris, but ruled admissible both of Acosta’s identifications and the telephone conversation.
During the culpability phase of the trial, the defense presented no evidence or testimony, conceding that Stewart had done the shooting but arguing that he was guilty of only second-degree murder or manslaughter. The jury found Stewart guilty of first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, robbery with a firearm, and arson. The trial judge, following the jury’s recommendation, sentenced Stewart to death on the murder charge, imposed two consecutive fifteen-year sentences for the attempted second-degree murder and arson convictions, and, departing from the sentencing guidelines, imposed a life sentence for the armed robbery.
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