Lionel Michael Miller (from left) and defense attorneys Larry Henderson and Gerald Hooper sit in Orange County Courthouse. (RICARDO RAMIREZ BUXEDA, ORLANDO SENTINEL / November 20, 2007)
Lionel Michael Miller was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder and could face the death penalty.
Sarah Lundy
Sentinel Staff Writer
November 21, 2007
Lionel Michael Miller is one step closer to facing the death penalty.
An Orange County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder Tuesday for fatally stabbing an Orlando woman with Alzheimer's disease and attacking the neighbor who tried to save her.
The 12 jurors also found Miller -- a 58-year-old transient described as a "crackhead" by his lawyers -- guilty of burglary of a dwelling with battery and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon.
The penalty phase will begin Monday when attorneys from both sides are expected to call witnesses who will talk about why Miller should or should not be ordered to die by lethal injection.
The jury will recommend either a death sentence or life in prison without parole. Chief Circuit Court Judge Belvin Perry will make the final decision.
Prosecutors say Miller went after 72-year-old Jerry Smith, figuring the woman who appeared to suffer from dementia would be an easy target.
He had met the widow several days earlier while Smith worked in her front yard on East Gore Street.
On Easter Sunday last year, Miller walked to Smith's turquoise bungalow with plans to rob her, police said.
But Smith put up a fight.
About 8 p.m., a neighbor -- Larry Haydon -- was walking his Labrador retriever when he heard Smith's screams from inside her home.
Through a window, he saw Smith struggling with Miller, he said.
"Jerry Smith ended up not being as easy a target as he thought," prosecutor Robin Wilkinson told the jurors during closing statements.
When Haydon tried to help Smith, Miller jabbed a 14-inch knife into the good Samaritan's right side, just below his rib cage, authorities said.
Smith ran out the back door yelling, followed by Miller. He caught up to her, stabbed her multiple times and then fled.
Haydon and Smith sought refuge at the home of a neighbor who called police.
Smith, the mother of criminal defense attorney Chris Smith, later died from the multiple stab wounds, including the lethal blow to her lower back.
Miller's lawyer, Gerod Hooper, tried to sway the jury by saying detectives focused on Miller early in the investigation. Someone else could have been in the house at the time of the killing, but police didn't seek the evidence to prove it.
"They got it in their heads that they were going to close the case quick and blame it on the crackhead," he said during closing statements.
The jury spent five hours deliberating before reaching a verdict shortly after 5 p.m.
Chris Smith stared at Miller as the verdict was read.
The defendant showed no emotion when he learned his fate. The courtroom remained silent as officials fingerprinted Miller, a stocky man with short cropped hair and a tan blazer. He looked far different than the skinny man with scraggly hair whom police arrested last April.
Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
Sarah Lundy
Sentinel Staff Writer
November 21, 2007
Lionel Michael Miller is one step closer to facing the death penalty.
An Orange County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder Tuesday for fatally stabbing an Orlando woman with Alzheimer's disease and attacking the neighbor who tried to save her.
The 12 jurors also found Miller -- a 58-year-old transient described as a "crackhead" by his lawyers -- guilty of burglary of a dwelling with battery and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon.
The penalty phase will begin Monday when attorneys from both sides are expected to call witnesses who will talk about why Miller should or should not be ordered to die by lethal injection.
The jury will recommend either a death sentence or life in prison without parole. Chief Circuit Court Judge Belvin Perry will make the final decision.
Prosecutors say Miller went after 72-year-old Jerry Smith, figuring the woman who appeared to suffer from dementia would be an easy target.
He had met the widow several days earlier while Smith worked in her front yard on East Gore Street.
On Easter Sunday last year, Miller walked to Smith's turquoise bungalow with plans to rob her, police said.
But Smith put up a fight.
About 8 p.m., a neighbor -- Larry Haydon -- was walking his Labrador retriever when he heard Smith's screams from inside her home.
Through a window, he saw Smith struggling with Miller, he said.
"Jerry Smith ended up not being as easy a target as he thought," prosecutor Robin Wilkinson told the jurors during closing statements.
When Haydon tried to help Smith, Miller jabbed a 14-inch knife into the good Samaritan's right side, just below his rib cage, authorities said.
Smith ran out the back door yelling, followed by Miller. He caught up to her, stabbed her multiple times and then fled.
Haydon and Smith sought refuge at the home of a neighbor who called police.
Smith, the mother of criminal defense attorney Chris Smith, later died from the multiple stab wounds, including the lethal blow to her lower back.
Miller's lawyer, Gerod Hooper, tried to sway the jury by saying detectives focused on Miller early in the investigation. Someone else could have been in the house at the time of the killing, but police didn't seek the evidence to prove it.
"They got it in their heads that they were going to close the case quick and blame it on the crackhead," he said during closing statements.
The jury spent five hours deliberating before reaching a verdict shortly after 5 p.m.
Chris Smith stared at Miller as the verdict was read.
The defendant showed no emotion when he learned his fate. The courtroom remained silent as officials fingerprinted Miller, a stocky man with short cropped hair and a tan blazer. He looked far different than the skinny man with scraggly hair whom police arrested last April.
Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
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