Steven Lorenzo: Man convicted of 2003 murders of 2 gay men wants death penalty, says 'we’re all going to go'
TAMPA, FLORIDA: Steven Lorenzo, 63, pleaded guilty Tuesday, December 6, to two counts of first-degree murder after fighting his murder case for years. He was accused of drugging, torturing, and killing two gay men in Tampa more than 20 years ago. Lorenzo was convicted in 2005 of drugging and raping several men, including Jason Galehouse and Michael Waccholtz, who disappeared on separate nights in Tampa in December 2003 and haven't been located in 19 years.
The murders, similar sexual assaults, and suspicious disappearances of gay men had the LGBTQ community terrified at the time. An investigation led to the arrest of Lorenzo and another man, Scott Schweickert, who was convicted in federal court of drugging the men. Schweickert and Lorenzo, however, were not immediately charged with murder. That changed in 2012 when prosecutors alleged the two drugged, tortured, and killed the men before disposing of their body parts in dumpsters. Schweickert is currently serving a 200-year sentence. He, therefore, sought the death penalty after filing an open plea with the court on Tuesday, December 6.
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"Everybody is born with a death sentence in this room. Everyone is on death row, we’re all going to go sometime," Lorenzo told the court on Tuesday as per FOX13. The Judge Christopher Sabella replied, "I will absolutely not hesitate to sentencing you to death." Before Thanksgiving, Lorenzo addressed a handwritten letter from jail to Hillsborough County's 13th Judicial Circuit Court. He stated in it that he want to enter a guilty plea, have a court sentence him to death, and forego his right to appeal. His sole justification for the change of heart is that he feels the final outcomes will be the same regardless of the outcome of the trial.
Interestingly Lorenzo had denied killing Galehouse and Waccholtz for more than a decade. In December of last year, he labeled Florida's death punishment "childish and ludicrous," as per the report. On Tuesday, he claimed that other people were involved in Galehouse's murder and that the assassination was "a group decision" to keep him from contacting the police. He said he didn't know the other persons and had no idea what their names were.
He recounted sexual activities with Galehouse, but stated he didn't want to "tarnish this kid's memory." He acknowledged dismembering Galehouse but claimed it was done by someone else. “I cannot tell you how much what I’m hearing from you infuriates me,” Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Sabella told Lorenzo, as per Yahoo. The judge then asked a question many in Tampa have long wondered: Did Lorenzo kill other people? “No,” was his quick reply. Lorenzo pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He remained adamant that he wants the death penalty.
Lorenzo, Schweickert, and the two other men feared Galehouse would go to the police. "We realized the kid was probably going to call the police on us, so we had a pow wow, and we said this kid can’t leave, he’s going to identify all four of us. So that’s why the decision was made, " said Lorenzo. In a response to Lorenzo’s latest request, prosecutors wrote that they’re fine with it, as long as his decision is made "knowingly and intelligently." Prosecutors announced they plan to call to the stand, three surviving victims of Lorenzo who escaped his attack decades ago. After the testimony from the state and Lorenzo is over, the judge will hand down his sentence.