The defense for Palm Coast’s Keith Johansen, 36, facing a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of his wife Brandi Celenza in 2018, wants to keep out of his trial surveillance video that shows him repeatedly threatening, insulting and demeaning Celenza, using racist, misogynistic and homophobic language. Today, the defense lost a bid to keep out hours of Johansen’s interviews with detectives.
murder trials
Jury Finds Benjamin Allen Not Guilty in Shooting Death of Elijah Rizvan, Reigniting Questions About “The Lying Three”
After deliberating just under two and a half hours today, the all-white jury of four women and two men found Benjamin Allen not guilty of the murder by gunshot of 17-year-old Elijah Rizvan two years ago on a W-Section street during a drug deal.
A Day of Testimony Unravels Three Witnesses’ Fleeing and Eluding Questions in Benjamin Allen Murder Trial
The three witnesses who were in the car with Benjamin Allen the evening Elijah Rizvan was shot and killed testified today in Allen’s trial on a first-degree murder charge, revealing to what extent they each lied and eluded both detectives’ questions then and attorneys’ questions today.
Appeals Court Orders New Bova Murder Trial: Judge ‘Abused’ Discretion By Denying Him Right to Represent Himself
The Fifth District Court of Appeal today ordered Joseph Bova re-tried for murder, 17 months after a jury found Bova guilty and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. The court ruled that Judge Terence Perkins was wrong to deny Bova his right to fire his attorneys and represent himself, no matter how much of a mess Bova would have made for himself.
“I’m So Embarrassed,” Judge Perkins Says of Further Delays in 3 Murder Trials Caused by Covid, Despite Innovations
Nathaniel Shimmel has been waiting three years for his murder trial, Tammy Almond two, Benjamin Allen one, and all three must wait until at least November as Covid restrictions are hampering Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, to his dismay, from going forward.
Eligible for Re-Trial, Dorothy Singer Pleads in 2017 Murder of Her Husband and Is Sentenced to 32.5 Years
She was eligible for a new trial. But facing daunting evidence against her, Dorothy Singer, formerly of west Flagler, pleaded to second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband Charles in 2017.
Judge Sets Stern Ground Rules Ahead of Keith Johansen Murder Trial in Shooting Death of Brandi Celenza
The trial judge admonished the families of both Brandi Celenza and Keith Johansen after a hearing where he’d ruled on admitting or limiting variously disturbing evidence-and prohibiting prejudicial courtroom antics in the gallery.
For Seven Days, Flagler Sees Florida’s Broken Death Penalty Machinery in Action
Though David Snelgrove was finally sentenced to life in prison rather than death this week, his trial shows how the 20-year ordeal in court could have been avoided with the same result two decades ago, had capital punishment not been on the table.
Death Row’s Cornelius Baker a No-Show at His Own Pre-Trial Ahead of Potential Reprieve
Lawyers and the judge in the re-sentencing case of convicted murderer Cornelius Baker focused on a lengthy questionnaire about the death penalty the defense planned to submit to potential jurors. The judge ordered the questionnaire significantly shortened.
Life in Prison Without Parole, Not Death, For David Snelgrove as 20-Year Ordeal Over Fowler Murders Ends
The seven-day re-trial over the penalty for the 2000 murders in Palm Coast’s B-Section was necessary because two previous verdicts were ruled unconstitutional. Today’s verdict means that years, maybe decades, of further proceedings will not be necessary.
After Dueling Witnesses and Sniping Lawyers, Jury Must Now Decide Whether to Call for David Snelgrove’s Killing
David Snelgrove’s double-murder of Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast 20 years ago comes down, in this third sentencing trial in two decades, to a jury willing to believe he was a calculated killer as opposed to a crack-addicted mentally impaired man who snapped.
Grim Day for Snelgrove’s Defense as Prosecution Makes Largely Unanswered Case for Death
A jury tasked with deciding whether to recommend death for David Snelgrove saw a psychologist for the defense unable to convincingly show that Snelgrove is a simple-minded individual who could not weigh the severity of the double-murder of an elderly couple he committed in Palm Coast 20 years ago.
Video and Pictures Revive Vivid Reactions to Double-Murder in Snelgrove’s Death-Penalty Trial
To reservations from the defense, the jury watched video and saw pictures of the crime scene following the murders of Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast 20 years ago, part of a penalty phase–the third in 18 years–requiring the jury to decide whether to recommend death for Snelgrove or life in prison.
For Jury in Double-Murderer Case, Snelgrove’s Mental Disability Is a Gray Matter of Life and Death
David Snelgrove’s double-murder of an elderly couple in palm Coast 20 years ago is not in dispute, but whether he should be put to death for it is. A jury will have to contend with the brutality of the murders as opposed to the mitigating factor of his mental disability.
20 Years After Double Murder in Palm Coast, David Snelgrove Faces Death Penalty Trial for 3rd Time
David Snelgrove murdered Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast in 2000, but is in yet another penalty phase of his trial this week because two previous recommendations for death were not unanimous.
Daughter Gives Her Murdered Mother A Voice Moments Before Killer Is Sentenced To Life in Prison
Teisha Silva Rosado, eldest daughter of Zuheily Rosado, who was murdered six and a half years ago, took the stand just before the sentencing of Joseph Bova today, describing her mother to a courtroom that until then had only known Rosado as a name.
In 39 Minutes, Jury Rejects Insanity, Finding Bova Guilty of Murdering Zuheily Rosado; He Faces Life in Prison
A jury of six women and six men found Joseph Bova II, 31, guilty of murdering Zuheily Roman Rosado at a Palm Coast convenience store in 2013. Bova’s insanity defense proved unconvincing.
Joseph Bova’s Insanity Defense Unravels: ‘I Had To Kill Her To Save All the People of Flagler County’
In testimony today, Joseph Bova explained how voices told him to kill Zuheily Rosado, 32, at a Mobil convenience store in 2013, but he also conceded that he’d fought the voices for months, casting doubt about his claim that he was insane at the time.
Prosecution Rests, and Rests Easy, in Bova Murder Trial as Even Defense Witnesses Fall Short of Pointing to Insanity
Joseph Bova II is claiming he was insane when he shot Zuheili Rosado dead at the Mobil mart in Palm Coast in 2013, but even the defense’s witnesses so far are not making the case, proving more helpful to the state’s argument of pre-meditated first-degree murder.
In Culmination of the Bizarre, Man Who Faced Life in Prison For Attempting to Electrocute His Wife May Walk Out of Prison in 10 Months
Michael Scott Wilson, 32, was sentenced to 3 years in prison today but may walk out of prison in 10 months because of time served and early release. He was convicted on reduced charges after facing a first-degree attempted murder charge.
Dorothy Singer Found Guilty of Murdering Her Husband Charles; She Is Immediately Sentenced To Life In Prison
The jury did not buy Dorothy Singer’s claim of self-defense when contrasted with the huge web of lies she fabricated after killing her husband Charles in West Flagler.
Dorothy Singer Murder Trial Day 3: Unearthing Details of a Killing and Its Elaborate Cover-Up
!['This part here is the entrance of [where] the bullet punched in,” Predrag Bulic, the chief medical examiner of the Seventh Judicial District, who conducted the autopsy of Charles Singer, told the jury in the trial of Dorothy Singer, who is accused of murdering her husband. He was shot five times, four times in the head. She said at the defense table, without looking at the screen. (c FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/bulic-gunshot.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The prosecution today focused on the five shots that killed Charles Singer and the three months of cover-ups his wife Dorothy concocted until her arrest.
On Trial For Husband’s Murder, Dorothy Singer’s Own Words and Fabrications Dig Deep Grave
Dorothy Singer, accused of murdering and burying her husband in their west-Flagler backyard, wove a web of lies to detectives and friends to explain her husband’s disappearance, as the jury heard today.
Dorothy Singer Murder Trial Starts Against Sharp Defense Objections Over Rules of Evidence
The lawyer for Dorothy Singer filed a motion for an emergency stay with an appeals court after losing attempts to delay the trial over evidence being provided late.
Defense Calls For Judge Craig To Be Disqualified From Dorothy Singer Murder Trial Following String of Startling Statements
Dorothy Singer is on trial Monday for allegedly murdering her husband Charles in West Flagler last year, but the defense claims the judge has made a series of statements that betray favoritism for the state.
December Trials Set For 2 Flagler Residents Facing Capital Murder Charges
Bobby Earl Gore, 74, is accused of shooting his won execution-style in Flagler Beach, Dorothy Singer is accused of shooting her husband and burying him in the couple’s backyard.
Anna Pehota Is Found Guilty of 2nd Degree Murder in Husband’s Killing and Sentenced to Life
A surprisingly quick verdict reflected the jury’s belief that Anna Pehota had killed her husband with intent, even though there’d been no argument or abuse that day, only her fear that he’d leave her.
2nd Trial Day Curdles for Pehota as 3-Hour Tape Shows More Resolve Than Remorse in Husband’s Killing
The defense rested without calling a single witness in Anna Pehota’s murder trial today, and what dementia issues may have played a role in her husband’s killing could not be introduced before the jury. Closing arguments are Friday morning.
“A Hair Between Sanity and Insanity”: Pehota’s Anguished Account of Killing Husband Marks 1st Trial Day
A video interview of Pehota describing the killing of her husband and the circumstances surrounding it underscored the first day of her trial. She faces a second-degree murder charge. Nothing happened today to shake an aura of sympathy–even empathy–around Pehota.
In Jury Selection for Anna Pehota Trial, Pronounced Sympathies for the Killer
Anna Pehota, 76, facing a second-degree murder charge for shooting her husband in the Hammock last September, is benefiting from inherent sympathy going into her trial, which began with jury selection Monday and starts in earnest Wednesday.
Eric Niemi Is Sentenced to Life in Prison, No Parole, for R-Section Murder of Leonard Lynn
Niemi killed Leonard Lynn, his 72-year-old landlord, in a savage beating last year. The sentencing hearing reflected Niemi’s own demeanor: stark, almost shorn of emotions, dispirited, more matter-of-fact than anguished.
Gytonia Cheek, Guilty on All Counts in Teacher Myrtle McKinney Murder, Will Serve Life in Prison
A jury of six men and six women found Gytonia Cheek guilty of first-degree murder, burglary and robbery today in Flagler County Circuit Court, in the 2007 killing of Myrtle McKinney in Palatka at Christmas that year. Gytonia was sentenced to life in prison.
Flagler County Jury Finds Quritus Lowe Guilty of Murdering Retired School Teacher
Myrtle McKinney, a 58-year-old retired schoolteacher, was found bludgeoned to death, gagged and blindfolded on Christmas Day 2007. Quritus Lowe II, one of four people charged in the murder, was convicted of first-degree murder in Flagler Monday, where the trial was moved because of publicity in Palatka. He may face the death penalty.
William Gregory Sentenced to Death for 2007 Double-Murder in Flagler Beach
William Gregory murdered ex-girlfriend Skyler Meekins, 17, and Daniel Dyer, 22, by shooting them in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun as they slept together in August 2007. “You have forfeited your right to live at all,” the judge told him.
Potential Juror’s Misconduct Leads to Mistrial in William Gregory Double-Murder Case
A potential juror who had been excused spoke improperly inf front of the larger jury pool on Friday, prejudicing the group. One of the seated jurors reported the incident.