Florida seeks death penalty for man charged with killing his girlfriend and infant son

Alachua County’s new state attorney will seek the death penalty against Kivi Ellis in the killings of his infant son and girlfriend, the baby’s mother.

State Attorney Brian Kramer submitted a notice of intent to the court Thursday that prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against Ellis, filed the same day a grand jury indicted him for 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, attempted 1st-degree murder, 2 counts of child abuse and resisting arrest without violence.

Kramer, who took over the office Jan. 5, listed 5 legal standards he says warrants the death penalty in the case.

Gainesville police said Ellis was found with a gun on Dec. 4 on the 2900 block of NE 17th Drive after several calls were made to 911 about shots fired in the neighborhood. Ellis’ girlfriend, Shelby Mathis, and their 3-month-old son, Gideon, were found dead on the property.

Officers said Ellis immediately surrendered in the street when they arrived, and he was taken into custody. The couple’s 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son were found hiding under the bed.

Kramer, in his argument for the death penalty, said the crime meets the state’s standards for being “particularly heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” committed against a victim who was under 12 years old and particularly vulnerable because Ellis was a parenting figure to the child.

He also said Ellis created a great risk of death to other people, and engaged or attempted to commit aggravated child abuse. Advertisement

Alachua County’s public defender, whose office is representing Ellis, called the decision disappointing.

“It’s a tragic, tragic case,” said Stacy Scott, public defender of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. “We just don’t want to compound the tragedy by having the death penalty be involved, particularly in the case when there’s mental health issues.”

In 2014, Ellis was charged with felony battery for beating Mathis with a wooden board in Gainesville. He was sentenced to four years' probation as part of a plea bargain.

Court records show he underwent a psychological evaluation and was found to have schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

A grand jury also indicted Brandon Michael Martin the same day as Ellis for 1st-degree murder, grand theft of a motor vehicle and tampering with physical evidence in the death of his former girlfriend.

Martin was accused of killing Annette Miller, 24, on Dec. 2 in her Waldo home.

Kramer did not issue a notice to pursue the death penalty in Martin's case.

He explained to The Sun on Friday that “the aggravated circumstances behind each of the cases are different."

(source: The Gainesville Sun)