SARASOTA, Florida–An emergency hearing was held this morning in the case of Florida v Michael King. Lead defense attorney Carolyn Schlemmer asked Judge Economou to prevent mental health experts on the side of the prosecution from directly assessing the defendant today.

Michael King enters court for emergency hearing

Schlemmer argued at that during the penalty phase of this trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, the defense will only bring before the jury facts about King's very low IQ and a substantial brain injury the defendant received when he was much younger.

The defense also stated they will rely mainly on one statutory aggravator: "the capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired." 

Judge Economou decided to allow prosecution experts to examine King today, basing his decision on the need for the prosecution to rebut a PET scan test already given to King.

On another note, there will be two victim impact statements read at tomorrow's hearing, one from Denise Lee's father, Rick Goff, and her husband, Nathan Lee.

The defense asked for and received some of Lee's statement not to come before the jury.

They will not hear statements referring to Lee's sons having no mother "that will haunt me forever" and that this "is a lesson that no father should have to teach his children."

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida–Now that a jury has now found Michael King guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Denise Lee, they must sit for the second part of this case: to determine whether King should be sentenced to death or serve out the remainder of his life in a Florida state prison.

Michael King was fingerprinted after being convicted of first-degree murder

The penalty phase in this case will be much like a mini-trial. Both sides are allowed to have opening statements and both sides can put on witnesses. Victim impact statements can be read by members of the victim’s family and the defense can put family members of Michael King on the stand to try and help spare his life.

The state will try to show the jury that King should be sentenced to death by arguing the facts of the evidence along with statutory aggravators, that if found by the jury, can show that King’s crimes, kidnapping, rape and murder, rise to the level appropriate for the ultimate penalty of death.

The statutory aggravators that will be relied on by the prosecution are the following: the capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel; the capital felony was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest; the capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification; and, the capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged…in the commission of…a sexual battery and kidnapping.

Under Florida law, the defense can present through argument and witness testimony statutory mitigators to show the jury King’s life should be spared and that death should not be the ultimate penalty.

Mitigating factors include: the defendant has no significant history of prior criminal activity; the capital felony was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance, along with the existence of any other factors in the defendant's background that would mitigate against imposition of the death penalty.

The defense can also put on mental health experts to testify as to King’s psychological health at the time of his crimes, and the prosecution can cross-examine those witnesses.

At the conclusion of any evidence there will be closing arguments. The jury will then retire to deliberate. Their penalty verdict is advisory only and does not have to be unanimous. Once a verdict is reached, all will assemble in the courtroom, and the jury’s verdict will be read in open court.

Before final sentencing, but in the weeks after this penalty phase concludes, King will be afforded what is known in Florida as a Spencer hearing. This hearing allows the defendant a chance to reargue his mitigating evidence and allows the prosecution to have additional victim impact statements read into the record. The purpose of the Spencer hearing is to ensure the reliability of the penalty and sentencing process in Florida.

Stay tuned to In Session as the penalty phase of this case gets underway.

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida–A Sarasota County jury has found Michael King guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery. The victim, 21-year-old Denise Lee, was missing for two days before her body was found buried in a grave in January 2008.

Michael King

Several calls to 911, including one by Lee herself were made the day she was reported missing.

Lee's family cried silently in the gallery as the verdict was read. The defendant showed no reaction. The jury panel of seven women and five men deliberated for about two hours before reaching a verdict.

King now faces the death penalty. That phase of the trial will be televised live on In Session next week.

–Nancy Leung, In Session field producer

SARASOTA, Florida–Closing arguments are now underway in the death penalty trial of Michael King, accused of raping and murdering 21-year-old Denise Lee in January 2008. Jurors should begin their deliberations later today.

Medical examiner Dr. Daniel Schultz, left, demonstrates how he believes Denise Lee was shot with prosecutor Lon Arend, right

On Thursday, medical examiner Dr. Daniel Schultz testified to an execution-style shot to the head that caused the death of Lee, which he demonstrated to the jury with a wooden pistol. Schultz's demonstration showed that the gun used to kill Lee would have been touching the young mother's right temple at her upper eyebrow when the one shot was fired. Her right eye was ruptured from the force.

Prosecutors have already identified a fluid on King's car consistent with the DNA of Lee. Schultz also told jurors, "If you tell me blood spatter was around it, I do believe the contents of the young mother's eye was on the defendant's car."

This testimony is vital to the prosecution's case against King. A murder weapon was never found and the defendant was never seen with bullets, so Lee's bodily contents on the defendant's car link him directly with the murder itself.

Defense attorneys questioned Schultz about the contact shot and the potential spatter and eye fluid on the defendant's car, but stressed King himself did not have any of Lee's blood on him. Testing of the defendant's clothes showed no sign of the victim's blood or bodily fluid.

In other testimony, a supervisor with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Department forensic unit testified about the gravesite where investigators found Lee's body. Louis Wood, who is also a trained archeologist, testified that the grave area looked different from other vegetation in the area even on first observation.

Investigators dug three feet, three inches from the surface of the soil and encountered the right shoulder of the victim. Lee was nude, curled in a fetal position with bloody duct tape on the back of her head. Once her body was removed, the entire grave was determined to be 4 feet 1 inch deep.

The gravesite included new and fresh plant life substantially below the surface showing recent movement of the soil, Wood testified.

–Stay tuned to In Session for all the latest from inside the Florida courtroom.

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida–In the Florida death penalty trial of Michael King, the jury view took place Wednesday of the dark green Camaro belonging to the defendant. Jurors slowly walked around the car that had been brought to the courthouse at the request of prosecutors.

Michael King's car parked in the courthouse garage before jury view

While some jurors took notes, the defendant was seated at a table, shackled at his ankles, but his confinement was hidden from jurors because of a skirt in place around the table.

In other testimony, Robert Salvador admitted he had gone to a shooting range with the defendant the morning of the murder of Denise Lee and had personally placed King's 9 mm pistol back in the defendant's car when their target practice concluded.

The defense, on cross-examination, focused on Salvador's lack of truthfulness when originally questioned by police and even suggested to Salvador that he met King close to the murder site later that afternoon and shot Denise Lee himself. "Absolutely not!" Salvador answered. He allowed to stand, however, the question asking Salvador if he killed Lee.

That exchange created a vigorous argument by attorneys out side the presence of the jury. The result was an instruction to the jury from Judge Deno Economou telling them to completely disregard the majority of that line of questioning by the defense.  

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida–Forensics testimony also played a major role in the trial of Michael King Wednesday. As prosecutors took the jury through a chronologic analysis of evidence, crime scene tech Pamela Schmidt identified duct tape taken at autopsy from the back head of victim Denise Lee.

Michael King

Schmidt testified that the duct tape stretched along the back of Lee's head from ear to ear. A bra strap was also found in a separate location from the remainder of a bra, underwear and a top all belonging to the young mother of two.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst Jennifer Setlak testified that vaginal swabs of Lee showed sperm cells consistent with the DNA of defendant Michael King.

DNA from the torn ends of duct tape located in the home of the defendant matched King's DNA. Swabbings from the hood of the defendant's car, one of an unknown fluid and one consistent with blood both showed DNA matching that of Denise Lee.

This evidence will be critical for the prosecution to show the proximity of the defendant's car to the execution of Lee with one shot to her head.

An FDLE trace evidence analyst testified she studied all pieces of duct tape found in the defendant's home and around Lee's head to see if there were fracture or tear matches. There were not, so the prosecution by this testimony cannot prove the duct tape on Lee matched tape in the defendant's home.

Nonetheless, there were class characteristics that matched, such as the color of the tape, width, along with length and spacing of yarns.
Christina Sanders also purchased an identical bra as that worn by Lee. Testing showed Lee's bra strap was pulled out of its stitching not cut. Prosecutors will use all of these fine points to show the struggle that took place between the victim and her assailant.

The defense, on cross-examination, poked holes in the methodology of DNA testing, the duct tape testing that couldn't provide absolute matches and the fact that oral and anal swabs of Lee did not include the semen of the defendant.

Stay tuned to In Session for all the latest on this case.

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida – The trial of Michael King, a man accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a 21-year-old Florida mother continues today with testimony from a crime scene technician.

On Tuesday, a jury reading transcripts followed along in silence as the more than 5 minute 911 call made by victim Denise Lee was played in court.

Lee was inside the defendant's Camaro when she used his cell phone to call a 911 operator and screamed: "My name is Denise and I just want to see my beautiful husband and kids again." She also answers the 911 operator when asked, "do you know this guy?" Crying into the phone, Lee yells "NO." Watch the defendant as the frantic 911 call is played

Prosecutors say Lee had been abducted by King and was shot to death with one bullet to the head shortly after this call. Family members of Lee left the courtroom before the tape was played, but Lee's father Detective Rick Goff stayed, telling me after court, "Its my daughter...I'm not going to leave."

In other testimony Jane Kowalski pounded the witness stand with her fist, demonstrating the banging of what she thought was a child's hand against the passenger window of a dark Camaro, accompanied by horrific screaming. The vehicle had pulled up to her left as she was traveling south on US 41 in Sarasota on January 17th - the date Lee was killed.

Kowalski's emergency call to authorities was also played in court and the Charlotte County 911 operator seemed to verbally repeat to others in her dispatch room what Kowalski said as she described every street the Camaro was passing, but that information was never communicated to law enforcement on the ground in the area.

Tammy Treadway, who heads up Animal Services with the Sarasota Sheriff's department, testified her golden retriever "actively engaged" in a rural site in the North Port area the evening of January 18, 2008.

Crime scene investigators soon found sand and dirt out of place and blood saturating the earth. Investigators had found the burial sight of Denise Lee.

-Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

HILLSBOROUGH, North Carolina–Jurors rejected the insanity defense and convicted Alvaro Castillo of first-degree murder, assault and multiple weapons charges Friday afternoon after approximately seven hours of deliberation. Castillo was sentenced to life without parole half an hour after the verdicts were announced.

Defendant Alvaro Castillo, right, listens as guilty verdict is delivered

Castillo, obsessed with the 1999 Columbine high school massacre, was convicted of murdering his father then driving to his former high school and opening fire on students, wounding two, on August 30, 2006, in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

As the clerk read the first verdicts—guilty of both theories of murder, premeditated and felony murder—Castillo closed his eyes and bowed his head. As the judge read the remaining nine verdicts, Castillo showed little emotion. Judge Baddour thanked jurors for their service, then spoke privately to them in the jury room, before pronouncing sentence on Castillo.

As jurors left the courthouse before the sentencing, many looked emotional. One female juror was overheard saying: “That poor boy.”

Judge Baddour gave Castillo an opportunity to speak at sentencing. Castillo stood with his hands folded in front of him and thanked all participants then apologized for his acts.

“I’d like to thank the Lord, our God, for all his blessings.” He then thanked his family, turning slightly to look behind him where his mother and sister sat. “I thank my father up in heaven for watching down on my.” Castillo then thanked his defense team, the jurors for considering the case and Judge Baddour for presiding over it. Next were his apologies. Castillo apologized to the victims: “my family, friends…Tiffaney Utsman, Andrew Hunt, Anna Rose and the Lord, our God.” He continued: “I know by my actions I shocked and hurt a lot of people. It wasn’t my intention. I simply wanted to help. Now I know it was wrong. I’ll do whatever is necessary. Once again, I’m sorry.”

Judge Baddour told Castillo that he appreciated the way he conducted himself throughout the trial. The judge continued to make a record before imposing the sentence. “It’s clear to the Court that you, Mr. Castillo, have, and probably still have, some serious mental health issues. Everyone has said that who has worked with you. I hope you continue to make yourself as well as you can while in the Department of Corrections.” Judge Baddour then remarked: “I guess I feel somewhat compelled to say there was some discussion about what mental health professionals could have done. I just want to say that this case was about Mr. Castillo and Mr. Castillo’s crimes. It is not a message to anyone else. It’s how the court system deals with crimes alleged.”

Finally, Judge Baddour said this case was a “tragedy for your father and the folks at Orange High School. It’s frustrating to hear how help was not available. I think it was available but everything didn’t fit together to get you the help that you needed.”

Judge Baddour then sentenced Castillo to life without parole. “Good luck to you, sir.”

–Beth Karas, In Session correspondent

NEW YORK–Minutes ago, a North Carolina jury said Alvaro Castillo was guilty of first-degree murder for killing his father and then opening fire at his former high school in August 2006, injuring two. 

Alvaro Castillo

Stay tuned to In Session for the latest verdict coverage in this case beginning Monday at 9 a.m.

–Carolyn Purcell, IN SESSION senior executive producer

HILLSBOROUGH, North Carolina–Jurors in Hillsborough, North Carolina will resume deliberations Friday morning in the murder and assault trial of Alvaro Castillo. Castillo, now 21, is charged with shooting his father, Rafael, 65, several times in the head then driving to his former high school and opening fire on students, injuring two.

Alvaro Castillo

On Thursday, the jury of six men and six women heard more than four hours of closing arguments from the attorneys. At the end of the day, jurors deliberated for half an hour before being sent home. The jury foreperson is a man who used to work in a state crime lab.

Closing arguments focused on Castillo’s state of mind on August 30, 2006, the day of the shootings. Castillo, then 18, was mentally ill and had been treated for depression since a suicide attempt four months earlier. He admits that he committed the acts he’s charged with but says he should not be held criminally responsible. At trial, critical evidence introduced by the prosecution included eight hours of videos he recorded between April and August 2006 and his diary from 2006, all of which gave mental health professionals unique insight into Castillo’s thought processes and mental disorders.

District Attorney Jim Woodall told jurors that there is no dispute Castillo suffers from mental illness but that he was still capable of carefully planning to kill his father and high school students and that he knew it was wrong. Woodall also conceded that Rafael Castillo may have been a rigid and controlling husband and father. He suggested, however, that Castillo’s mental illness and his father’s abuse were “greatly overblown” by the defense at trial.

Public Defender James Williams told jurors that this case is a tragedy for all and that it will only be compounded if Castillo is convicted of first degree murder despite proof of his mental illness. Williams described Castillo’s delusional belief that God wanted him to “sacrifice” his father and students at his former high school. While Castillo knew it was illegal, he believed it was the right thing to do.

In a rebuttal closing, Woodall emphasized the furtive steps Castillo took to hide his plans. He denied having suicidal and homicidal thoughts when asked by his treatment providers. Yet, simultaneously, he was buying guns and amassing ammunition. He was recording videos and writing in his diary about the plan he named “Operation Columbine.” There are several references in the videos and diary to remorse for what he was about to do. That, said Woodall, is proof that he knew it was wrong.

Friday will be the first full day of deliberations.

–Beth Karas, In Session correspondent