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Thirteenth Judicial Circuit,
Hillsborough County, Case #81-10517
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable
F. Dennis Alarvez
Trial Attorneys: Frank T.
Johnson & Fred Buckine – Private
Attorneys, Direct Appeal: W.C
McLain & Karla J. Staker – Assistant Public Defenders
Attorneys, Collateral Appeals:
Martin McClain & Christine Spuedas – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 10/12/81
Date of Sentence: 08/13/82
Circumstances of Offense:
Milford Byrd was convicted and
sentenced to death for the murder of his wife, Debra Byrd, on 10/12/81.
Debra Byrd was found strangled
to death at the Tampa motel that the she and her husband managed on the
morning of 10/13/81. Medical examiners discovered that Debra had
suffered from many non-fatal wounds including scalp lacerations, bruises
and four gunshot wounds.
According to the statements he
made to police, Byrd claimed he had gone to the gym and to a couple of
bars the night of the murder, and upon returning home at 6:45 a.m., he
found his wife dead. Soon after the murder, Byrd was inquiring about
his wife’s $100,000 life insurance policy and how long it would take to
settle the claim.
On 10/27/81, Ronald Sullivan,
who resided at Byrd’s motel, was arrested for a parole violation and
subsequently charged with Debra’s murder. Stemming from Sullivan’s
statements to police, Byrd was arrested in connection with Debra’s
murder on 10/28/81. Police officers arrested Byrd on probable cause,
without a warrant.
At the police station, Byrd
claimed that he would make a statement about the murder if he could
speak to his girlfriend privately. Detectives relented, and after
speaking with his girlfriend, Byrd relayed the following information
about Debra’s murder: Byrd had fallen in love with his current
girlfriend, and Debra refused to grant him a divorce. Byrd confessed
that he approached Sullivan and his roommate, James Endress, about
killing his wife. Byrd offered them $5,000 each to arrange the murder
and make it look like a robbery. Byrd claimed that he was not present
when the murder was committed.
Sullivan turned State’s evidence
in exchange for a negotiated plea and testified against Byrd at his
trial. Sullivan claimed that Byrd was, in fact, present at the time of
the murder and that he, Endress and Byrd all took turns choking Debra.
Codefendant Information:
Ronald Sullivan was sentenced to
10 years for Second-Degree Murder on 06/24/83 for his role in the murder
of Debra Byrd.
James Endress was sentenced to
life in prison for First-Degree Murder on 10/20/83.
Trial Summary:
10/28/81 Defendant
arrested.
11/12/81 Defendant
indicted on the following:
Count I: First Degree
Murder
11/24/81 The defendant
entered a written plea of “not guilty.”
07/23/82 The jury found
the defendant guilty of First-Degree Murder.
07/26/82 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury,
by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death penalty.
08/13/82 The defendant was sentenced to the
following:
Count I:
First Degree Murder - Death
Case Information:
Byrd filed his Direct Appeal in
the Florida Supreme Court on 08/27/82. Byrd claimed in his appeal that
his confession should have been suppressed because it was not given
voluntarily. After examination, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that
Byrd’s arrest and confession were lawful. Byrd also argued the
application of non-statutory aggravating and mitigating factors in his
case. Additionally, he claimed that the murder was not committed for
pecuniary gain or “heinous, atrocious and cruel.”
The Florida Supreme
Court summarily denied all claims and affirmed the conviction and
sentence on 11/14/85.
On 04/04/86, Byrd filed a
Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court,
which was denied on 05/27/86.
Next, Byrd filed a Motion to
Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit Court on
05/27/88. That motion was denied on 07/11/89. Byrd filed an appeal of
that decision in the Florida Supreme Court on 09/08/89. The court
affirmed the denial of Byrd’s 3.850 on 02/20/92.
Byrd filed a Petition for Writ
of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Middle District,
on 07/27/92. That petition was denied on 03/31/94.
Byrd then filed a Petition for
Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court on 02/09/94. The
Florida Supreme Court denied the petition on 01/26/95.
On 12/12/95, Byrd filed a
Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court,
which was denied on 03/18/96.
Byrd again filed a Petition for
Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Middle
District, on 04/18/96. The petition was administratively closed on
09/23/99. Byrd’s case was reopened and an amended petition was filed on
02/12/02. The case was administratively closed on 7/22/02 pending the
final decision in the Bottoson/King cases.
On 03/25/02, Byrd filed a 3.850
Motion in the State Circuit Court that was denied on 08/01/05.
Byrd filed a 3.851 Motion Appeal
in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/20/06 that is pending.
