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  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Steven Anthony Cozzie - Florida Death Row


    Courtney Ann Wilkes, age 15




    State will seek death penalty for Cozzie

    State Attorney Bill Eddins says the state of Florida will seek the death penalty against Stephen Anthony Cozzie. Cozzie is charged with the death of 15-year old Courtney Wilkes of Lyons, Ga.

    Courtney had been vacationing at the beach with her family.

    Her body was found in a wooded area near a nature trail in the Seagrove area of South Walton County June 16. She was strangled and beaten to death, officials said.

    At the time, Sheriff Mike Adkinson said Cozzie has evil in his heart. Adkinson told reporters, "This is nothing more than pure evil."

    http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/aug/1...ee-ar-2283247/

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    Private attorneys appointed in Cozzie murder case

    DeFUNIAK SPRINGS —Two private attorneys have been appointed to represent Steven Cozzie, the 22-year-old Seagrove Beach man who is charged with killing a teenage girl last June.

    His public defender, Lenny Platteborze, stepped down last week because of a conflict of interest with a witness in the case.

    “The public defender’s office represents a material witness in the defendant’s case,” Platteborze said in a document filed in Walton County Circuit Court late last month. “The prosecutor agrees there is a conflict.”

    On Thursday, Circuit Judge Kelvin Wells appointed attorneys Sharon Wilson from Pensacola and Jeremy Keich from DeFuniak Springs to represent Cozzie.

    The state has said it intends to pursue the death penalty in the case.

    Cozzie is charged with the murder of Courtney Wilkes, a 15-year-old girl from Lyons, Ga., who was killed June 16 while she was vacationing in Seagrove Beach with her family.

    Wilkes’ body was found in some woods less than five hours after her family last saw her on the beach with Cozzie. She had been strangled with a shirt, badly beaten and sexually assaulted, according to court records.

    By the middle of last month, Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore, who is prosecuting the case, had provided Platteborze with lists of at least 100 names of possible witnesses.

    The lists include 18-year-old Michael Spencer, who Walton County sheriff’s deputies said led them to Wilkes’ body. Spencer told deputies Cozzie had taken him into the woods to show him what he had done shortly after the killing, according to court records.

    Spencer also told deputies that Cozzie had talked about wanting to rape someone several days before the crime, according to court records.

    Wilkes’ parents, Cozzie’s mother, employees at a Tom Thumb store near where Wilkes’ body was found and several students at Northwest Florida State College also were on the witness lists.

    Copies of DNA evidence reports were provided to Platteborze on Aug. 3, according to court records.

    Elmore said he doesn’t expect the change in representation to slow down the case.

    “It really to my mind shouldn’t affect it too much,” Elmore said.

    A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15 to determine when both sides will be ready to argue the case.

    http://www.waltonsun.com/news/privat...s-springs.html

  3. #3
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    I´m sure he doesen´t smile anymore. I think this is one of the worst nightmares for parents. Your child murdered during vacation.

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    Jury recommends death for man who killed teen

    DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) -- Jurors have recommended death on Thursday for a Florida Panhandle man convicted of killing a teenage Georgia girl on vacation with her family.

    A Walton County jury voted 12-0 that Steven Cozzie, 23, should die. Circuit Judge Kelvin Wells will make the final decision sometime in the future. Cozzie was convicted last week of first-degree murder, sexual battery, aggravated child abuse and kidnapping.

    Authorities say Courtney Wilkes, 15, was found dead in Seagrove Beach a day after she went missing in June 2011. She and her family had been visiting from Lyons, Ga.

    Courtney's mother, Toni Wilkes, addressed the media after the recommendation.

    "We feel relieved. We feel vindicated. We feel this is the penalty he should have gotten," Wilkes said. "It doesn't relieve our circumstances, but today may be the first day of our healing."

    The Northwest Florida Daily News (http://goo.gl/pqdEY) reports that witnesses connected Cozzie to Courtney, and he was arrested shortly after her body was found.

    Cozzie had been hanging around the condominium where the Wilkes family was staying two years ago when he asked Courtney to take a walk with him. Courtney's mother allowed her to go.

    On a secluded nature trail nearby, Cozzie wrapped his shirt around Courtney's neck and began choking her. He then dragged into a dry cypress swamp, where he raped her and then beat her to death with a heavy piece of lumber.

    Earlier this week, Cozzie's family members tried to convince jurors that he should receive a life sentence rather than the death penalty. They described him as a mentally challenged young man who had been physically, emotionally and sexually battered inside and outside his home for most of his life.

    http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/06...h-for-man.html
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    Related




    Randall pleads guilty to murder, will testify against Cozzie

    DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Ira Alexander Randall will serve 20 years in prison for beating cohort Robert “R.J.” Dickens to death last year.

    Randall originally was charged with first-degree murder. However, he was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon in exchange for agreeing to testify Steven Cozzie and Sara Hanks, Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore said Thursday.

    Cozzie faces the death penalty in connection with the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 15-year-old Georgia girl in June, Elmore said.

    Hanks was Randall’s girlfriend when Dickens was killed. She is charged with being an accessory after the murder.

    She is accused of helping Randall move Dickens’ body to a remote location Holmes County. She also hid Randall in a room at a hotel where she worked, a according to a news release from the state attorney’s office.

    Hanks faces up to 30 years in prison, Elmore said.

    Elmore declined to go into specifics of what Cozzie might have told Randall while they were in the Walton County Jail. He said only that Randall was “a witness to statements.”

    Randall killed Dickens on July 21, 2010, by hitting him several times with a heavy metal object. Law officers said the men knew one another and that it appeared they got into a fight over drugs or money.

    Walton County sheriff‘s deputies arrived at the scene of the killing after getting a tip. They did not find a body, but there was enough blood to assume the worst. Randall was located before Dickens’ body was found and he originally was charged with dealing in stolen property.

    Randall confessed to the killing and helped investigators find Dickens’ body in the Gritney community in Holmes County, according to law officers.

    Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson commended the state attorney’s office for the deal it reached with Randall.

    “I think the state’s attorney made the correct decision to bring about closure of this issue and help bring two other individuals to justice,” he said.

    http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/spr...k-testify.html

  6. #6
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    Judge Sets Hearing in Cozzie Case

    The man who killed Toombs County teenager Courtney Wilkes two years ago in Florida is facing the death penalty and the next phase in the sentencing process will take place in August.

    Judge Kelvin Wells will hold what's called a "Spencer Hearing" for Steven Cozzie August 21 in the Walton County Circuit Court in DeFuniak Springs.

    The purpose of the "Spencer Hearing" is to ensure the reliability of the penalty and sentencing process in Florida. The hearing was named for Leonard Spencer, who was sentenced in 1989 to death after a jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of armed robbery.

    In Spencer's case, the defense attorney went looking for the Judge and Prosecutor and found them in the Judge's chambers proofreading an order sentencing Spencer to death. The attorney, "voiced his concern that the Judge had drafted an order expressing his reasons and conclusions for imposing the death penalty prior to Spencer's counsel having an opportunity to be heard," according to the Appeals Court.

    The Florida Supreme Court ultimately determined that a Trial Judge should not formulate his/her sentencing decision prior to giving the defendant an opportunity to be heard. They then established a procedure to be used in the sentencing phase, which included the Trial Judge holding a hearing to give the defendant and his or her counsel the opportunity to be heard and an opportunity to present any additional evidence - now called a "Spencer Hearing". The Prosecuting attorney will also have an opportunity to offer additional evidence in support of the death sentence.

    After the hearing, Judge Wells will make the ultimate decison on the life or death of Cozzie.

    https://www.southeastgeorgiatoday.co...155&Itemid=117
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    One Year Anniversary of Teen's Murder in Walton County

    Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of 15 year old Courtney Wilkes.

    The Lyons, Georgia teenager was killed by 21-year old Steven Cozzie, a local boy she befriended while on vacation with her family in Seagrove Beach.

    Wilkes went missing after she told her family she was taking a walk on the beach with Cozzie. Authorities found her beaten body hours later in a wooded area near the condo where her family was staying.

    Cozzie's trial has been delayed several times. He's currently being held in the Walton County Jail and charged with rape and murder. The state is seeking the death penalty in the trial scheduled for October 8th.

    http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/O...ction=comments
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  8. #8
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    Convicted Murderer Steven Cozzie Has Spencer Hearing

    Steven Cozzie is convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering 15 year old Courtney Wilkes, but Thursday a Spencer hearing took place - meaning the prosecution and defense can each submit evidence or bring up witnesses to try to sway the judge in his final decision to give Cozzie life in prison or the death penalty.

    At the beginning of the hearing, the prosecution said they had no witnesses or evidence to add to their case, however after defense introduced their evidence, the prosecution had a change of heart. Cozzie's defense wanted to bring in a transcript of a recorded interview that one of the 15 year old witnesses had with the police. The conversation included some information about communication between herself and Cozzie's former friend - and a key witness in the case - Michael Spencer.

    After noting that the 15 year old witness would need to be cross examined for things to be fair, prosecution chose to introduce the deposition of Michael Spencer to combat the transcribed interview.

    "It's a matter that the state deserved to have the opportunity to cross examine the witness about," commented Assistant State Attorney Robert Elmore. "Now I don't think it's going to harm the state's case, but I felt it was an inappropriate procedural tactic."

    Both sides will now provide a written memorandum to the court and wait to see what Judge Wells decision will be during sentencing on October 17th.

    http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/C...220746641.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Trial to begin for accused murderer of Toombs Co. teen

    The man accused of killing a Toombs County teenager will have his day in court.

    The trial for 24-year-old Steven Cozzie is scheduled to begin Monday in Walton County, Florida.

    Cozzie is charged in the death of 15-year-old Courtney Wilkes of Lyons.

    Wilkes was found beaten and strangled to death June 16, 2011 while she was vacationing with her family in Seagrove Beach, Florida.

    The state is seeking the death penalty for Cozzie on the murder charge. He’s also charged with aggravated child abuse and kidnapping.

    Jury selection begins Monday in Florida, and the trial is expected to last two weeks.

    http://www.thecoastalsource.com/2013...oombs-co-teen/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Courtney Wilkes' Killer to be Sentenced Thursday

    A Florida man convicted in the 2011 murder of a Toombs County teen is expected to be sentenced tomorrow afternoon.

    Steven Anthony Cozzie was found guilty of first-degree Premeditated Murder this past June for killing 15 year old Courtney Wilkes.

    Prosecutors said that Cozzie lured the teen away from her family while they vacationed in Seagrove Beach in June 2011.

    He then used his shirt to strangle Wilkes and then dragged her limp body into a swamp where he raped and then beat her to death.

    In closing arguments, Steven Cozzie's attorney conceded that his client killed Wilkes in an attempt to get a second degree murder conviction -- which would have taken the death penalty off the table.

    But the jury took less than two hours to find him guilty of first-degree Premeditated Murder, Sexual Battery, Aggravated Child Abuse and Kidnapping.

    They later recommended that he be sentenced to death.

    "We feel vindicated. We feel like this is the penalty he should have gotten. It doesn't change our circumstances, but we're relieved, relieved to have it over," said Courtney's mother,Toni Wilkes, at the time.

    Cozzie's fate now lies in the hands of a Walton County, Florida judge who will hand down his sentence at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

    Wilkes was from Lyons and would have been a junior at Toombs County High School that fall.

    A scholarship, The Courtney Wilkes Memorial Agriculture and Veterinary Scholarship, was established in his honor by Vidalia Onion farmers.

    http://www.wsav.com/story/23710056/c...enced-thursday
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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