Jury to decide whether Florida bank shooter receives death penalty
- Zephen Xaver pleaded guilty in 2019 bank shooting
- Jury selection for his sentencing is underway
- Jurors decide whether he recevies death penalty or life in prison
FILE – A Highlands County Sheriff’s SWAT vehicle is stationed out in front of a SunTrust Bank branch, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in Sebring, Fla., where authorities say five people were shot and killed. Jury selection starts Monday in the penalty trial of 27-year-old Zephen Xaver, who pleaded guilty last year to the murders. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
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(NewsNation) — The fate of a Florida man who pleaded guilty to a 2019 bank shooting that killed five women will soon be in the hands of a jury.
Zephen Xaver, a 27-year-old former prison guard trainee pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder last year after officials charged him with carrying out the fatal shooting more than five years ago at Sun Trust Bank in Sebring, Florida.
Jury selection for the trial began this week. The COVID-19 pandemic, legal maneuvering attorney illnesses had delayed the process several times until now.
Since Xaver has already pleaded guilty, jurors will decide only whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Attorney Chelsea Simmons, who is not connected to the case, joined “NewsNation Now” Tuesday to explain what obstacles lie ahead.
Sebring is a small community about two hours south of Orlando in the center of Florida, meaning finding an impartial jury panel could be a challenge, Simmons said.
Under a new Florida law, however, the jury needs only an 8-to-4 vote rather than a unanimous agreement to sentence someone to death.
“The main goal here in jury selection is to make sure the jurors understand that each one of their votes matters,” Simmons said.
There are severe aggravating factors in the case, she added, noting that prosecutors will likely try to “prove significant premeditation.”
Impact statements from the victims’ friends and families could also play a role.
“They aren’t specifically aggravating factors or reasons for the death penalty but they’re a really important part of this case and in showing who these people were,” Simmons said.
Those killed include Cynthia Watson, 65, who had been married less than a month; bank teller coordinator Marisol Lopez, 55, who was a mother of two; banker trainee Ana Pinon-Williams, a 38-year-old mother of seven; bank teller Debra Cook, a 54-year-old mother of two and a grandmother; and banker Jessica Montague, 31, a mother of one and stepmother of four.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
