Polk County: Life verdict for David Marshall Murdock
Last week, a Polk County jury recommended that David Marshall Murdock be sentenced to life in prison without parole rather than death.
A Polk County jury recently convicted David Marshall Murdock of first-degree murder for killing his ex-girlfriend in 2019 and attempting to kill one other person. Last week, the jury recommended that David Marshall Murdock be sentenced to life in prison without parole rather than death.
Litigation About Sentencing Statute
After Gov. DeSantis signed into law Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute, Murdock, through his attorneys, filed several motions challenging the constitutionality of the statute and its application to Murdock’s case. The State filed a Motion seeking permission to apply the 2023 statute. On February 16, 2024, the trial court entered an Order denying Murdock’s motions and granting the State’s.
Trial
Jury selection began in early March.
Guilt Phase
Law & Crime televised the trial, which can be found on YouTube:
In the video above, one of the victims testifies beginning around 4:17.
On March 20, the jury returned a verdict in the guilt phase, finding Murdock guilty of first-degree murder and other crimes.
Penalty Phase
The penalty phase began March 26. After hearing evidence of aggravation and mitigation, including several victim impact statements, on March 28, the jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment without parole (LWOP) for Murdock.
Interestingly, the jury’s verdict form suggests that the jury had previously voted to recommend a sentence of death before reaching its final verdict for LWOP.
Before reaching the final sentencing determination, the jury unanimously determined that the State proved two of the four aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury did not find that the State proved the HAC and CCP aggravators:
The full verdict form can be downloaded here.
Under the 2023 statute, because the jury recommended a sentence of LWOP, the judge must sentence Murdock to LWOP and cannot override the jury’s recommendation.