DC #100018
DOB: 02/01/64 

Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case #84-19874
Sentencing & Resentencing Judge: The Honorable Thomas M. Carney
Trial Attorney: Arthur W. Carter – Private 
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Geoffrey C. Fleck – Special Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal (RS): Geoffrey C. Fleck – Special Assistant Public Defender
Attorneys, Collateral Appeals:  Rachel Day – CCRC-S 

Date of Offense: 08/15/84     

Date of Sentence: 10/25/85

Date of Resentencing:  02/05/90

Circumstances of Offense:

David Cook was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Onelia Betancourt on 08/15/84.

Onelia Betancourt and her husband Rolando were found dead at a Miami Burger King where they were employed as the late-night cleaning crew.

David Cook was brought in for questioning, following an anonymous tip, and confessed to killing the couple. 

Cook stated that he, Derek Harrison, and Melvin Nairn went to the Burger King to commit a robbery on 08/15/84.  When Rolando Betancourt exited the back of the restaurant to empty the garbage, Cook grabbed Harrison’s gun and followed Rolando back inside. 

The door slammed behind them, preventing Harrison and Nairn from entering.  Cook demanded Rolando get him the money from the safe, but Rolando answered that he did not speak English. 

When Cook insisted that Rolando get the money from the safe, Rolando hit him in the arm with a metal rod, and then Cook shot him once in the chest. 

When Cook was exiting the restaurant, Onelia Betancourt grabbed him around the legs and began screaming.  Cook shot her and fled with Harrison and Nairn.

Codefendant Information:

Derek Harrison was sentenced to 23 years imprisonment for his role in the murders and robbery

08/25/84 - Defendant arrested.

09/13/84 - Defendant indicted as follows:

Count I: First-Degree Murder (Rolando Betancourt)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Onelia Betancourt)
Count III: Armed Burglary
Count IV: Attempted Armed Robbery
Count V: Attempted Armed Robbery
Count VI: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

08/09/85 - The jury found the defendant guilty on all counts.

08/13/85 - Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 7 to 5 majority, voted for the death penalty for the murder of Rolando Betancourt.  The jury, by an 8 to 4 majority, voted for death for the murder of Onelia Betancourt.

10/25/85 - Defendant sentenced as follows:

Count I: First-Degree Murder (Rolando Betancourt) – Life
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Onelia Betancourt) – Death
Count III: Armed Burglary – Life
Count IV: Attempted Armed Robbery – 15 years
Count V: Attempted Armed Robbery – 15 years 
Count VI: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm – Suspended Sentence

04/06/89 - Upon Direct Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the murder convictions and sentence of life imposed for the murder of Rolando Betancourt.  They reversed and remanded Cook’s death sentence for the murder of Onelia Betancourt, and ordered a resentencing without the consideration of two aggravating factors that were previously applied.

02/05/90 - Defendant resentenced as follows:

On 12/16/85, Cook filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.  He argued that the trial court erred in refusing to excuse two potential jurors for cause because they had difficulty understanding English, in the application of aggravating and mitigating evidence, and in the jury instruction during the penalty phase. 

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of Rolando Betancourt on 04/06/89.  They reversed and remanded Cook’s death sentence for the murder of Onelia Betancourt and ordered him to be resentenced without two previously applied aggravating factors.

Cook was resentenced to death by the trial judge on 02/05/90.  He filed a Direct Appeal of that decision in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/14/90. 

In that appeal, he argued that his sentence was disproportional to those of his co-defendants and that the trial judge failed to adequately consider the mitigating evidence in his sentencing order.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the sentence on 05/30/91.

Cook next filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/07/91.

Next, Cook filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit Court that was denied on 12/04/96.

Cook filed an appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 10/15/98.  On 06/28/01, the Supreme Court reversed the denial by the Circuit Court and remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing to examine Cook’s claim of ineffective counsel during the penalty phase.

An evidentiary hearing was held in the State Circuit Court on 12/15/03, and the motion was denied on 09/23/04.

Cook filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 10/26/04 that is pending.