By a vote of 11-1, a Polk County jury recommended Tuesday that convicted murderer Marcelle Jerrill Waldon be sentenced to death for the fatal stabbings of former Lakeland Commissioner Edie Yates Henderson and her husband David Henderson three years ago.
Circuit Judge Kevin Abdoney must give that recommendation great weight, under state law, when he imposes the sentence. No date has been set for that hearing.
Waldon, 39, stood motionless, his hands deep in his pockets, as Abdoney began reading the jury’s verdict following more than five hours of deliberations Tuesday. When the judge announced the recommendation for death, Waldon nodded.
And as bailiffs led him from the courtroom, Waldon appeared to chuckle to himself.
Henderson family members in court Tuesday declined comment regarding the verdict, as did Waldon’s mother.
An indisputably ‘heinous’ crime
The same 12 jurors in the case unanimously convicted Waldon of first-degree murder last week in the brutal stabbing deaths of Edie, 67, and her husband, David, 63. Prosecutors had argued that Waldon came into the couple’s home at 127 Lake Morton Drive through an unlocked door, surprising Edie as she finished taking a shower and was drying her hair. He was armed with a silver pistol and a knife he’d taken from her knife block in the kitchen, according to court testimony.
Waldon didn’t know the Hendersons, testimony showed, but he was familiar with the neighborhood and the couple’s habits.
The two first-degree murder convictions took the court into the sentencing phase this week, allowing Waldon’s lawyers to present evidence supporting a life sentence. But on Monday, Waldon waived that right, recognizing that his lawyers were advising him against it, and none was presented. He offered no explanation for his decision, but left his defense team with no option.
Tampa defense lawyer Daniel Hernandez spoke to the jury for about eight minutes in his closing argument Tuesday, first offering condolences to the Henderson family before asking jurors to consider a recommendation of life imprisonment.
“Life in prison without the possibility of parole means exactly that,” he said. “My client, Mr. Waldon, will leave prison in a coffin. Your recommendation will go a long way in determining when.”
“My client, Mr. Waldon, will leave prison in a coffin. Your recommendation will go a long way in determining when.”
Defense attorney daniel hernandez
In seeking a death penalty recommendation, Assistant State Attorney Michael Nutter told jurors that Waldron’s primary intent after entering the Henderson home that November morning was to evade capture.
“At the time that the defendant murdered the Hendersons, they were tied up,” he said in his closing argument. “They posed no threat to his physical safety, so why would he kill them? He killed them because he knew that he had been caught in the act of burglary. He had been caught in the act of robbery. He knew that if he left these two people alive, someday they might be able to sit in that witness chair and tell you what happened. That was not a risk that he was willing to take.”
Avoiding arrest was one of six statutory aggravating factors that Nutter argued were reasons to impose the death penalty.
He also argued the stabbings were so grisly, they qualified as heinous, atrocious or cruel under state law.
“He repeatedly plunged his knife into her chest, cutting through her ribs, puncturing her heart,” he said. “Cutting her throat.”
Court testimony revealed that Edie was stabbed 11 times and Waldon stabbed David a dozen times.
In the judge’s hands now
In their deliberations Tuesday, jurors agreed unanimously that prosecutors had proven each of the six aggravating factors, including that the killings were cold, calculated and premeditated, and that Waldon had committed a kidnapping in the course of the attack.
Under a new Florida law, a minimum of eight jurors had to vote in favor of the death penalty for Abdoney to consider it. They voted 11-1 for each of the two murders.
As the case proceeds to sentencing, Abdoney will hold a state-mandated hearing allowing lawyers on both sides to present additional evidence beyond what was given to the jury. No date has been set for that hearing.
Waldon will continue to be held in the Polk County Jail without bond pending his sentencing.
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Oh good, Marcelle finally gets the justice he deserves.