Sarasota Grand Jury Returns First Degree Murder Indictment for June Homicide

A Sarasota County grand jury indicted David Myers of Venice, Florida, last week on on first-degree murder charges. He was previously charged with second-degree murder. The speculation is that prosecutors may now seek the death penalty for Myers.

Prosecutors now have 15 days to file a notice if they intend to seek the death penalty. The notice is filed as part of a procedure for cases that have elements that might make the death penalty appropriate. They claim that no decision has yet been made regarding the death penalty in the Myers case.

Law enforcement claims that Myers shot his ex-girlfriend, Maureen Modlin, in the face at her home this past June, then shot her three more times. He also shot and killed her boyfriend, Michael Lee Bistranin.

Modlin, at least at one point, had a restraining order against Myers. (A judge denied to extend the order at Modlin’s request in 2008.) They fought in court for years over the property on which Modlin was killed. Myers lost ownership of the property in 2005 when a court declared that a quitclaim deed Myers signed in 2002 as part of a loan agreement made Modlin and her mother the legal owners.

On the day of the murders, Modlin’s neighbors called the sheriff’s office to report Myers was at her home when he was not supposed to be. The deputies who responded found Myers at the house with the bodies of Modlin and Bistranin hidden in the woods nearby. He apparently claimed to deputies that had evicted the couple and was seen moving boxes into the house prior to discovery of the bodies.

In Florida, in order for a jury to recommend the death penalty, it must find sufficient aggravating circumstances as outlined by the state statute. In this case, there may be a few aggravating factors that the prosecution will attempt to prove:

• The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
• The capital felony was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody.

Prosecutors apparently believe that they can present evidence that Myers had cash in his pocket and, according to reports, had been reading a book called “Hide Your Assets and Disappear”.  Detectives speculate that he had planned the murders ahead of time and may have then planned to hide or dispose of the bodies and flee the area.

Prosecutors may also argue Myers killed Bistranin to conceal the Modlin homicide.

These potential aggravating factors though can potentially be outweighed by consideration of statutory mitigating factors. Without knowing more about the defendant’s background, it is hard to determine which of these circumstances the capital defense attorneys might rely upon.

The newspaper reports alone are enough to wonder about the defendant’s mental state and his capacity to understand the criminality of his actions. It certainly seems contradictory to argue that Myers planned to flee after the homicides – but posted an eviction notice and was moving boxes into the house on the property he battled with Modlin over. He also allegedly shot the couple, returned to his South Venice rental to retrieve some clothes and went back to Modlin’s house (which is when he was noticed by the neighbors).