Ludmilla Lelis
Sentinel Staff Writer
July 22, 2008
DeLAND
He had walked to a police station to confess to murder, leading police to a blood-filled bathtub, a dead woman in his bed and the knife in the kitchen sink.
Now Russell Bradshaw, 22, could forfeit his life for the crimes against Lisa Anne Memro, 21, of New Smyrna Beach. Bradshaw was found guilty Monday of killing Memro and sexually abusing her body.
The jury will return next week to recommend whether Bradshaw should get life in prison or the death penalty. Circuit Judge James R. Clayton will sentence him, but a jury recommendation usually is given great weight.
"We respect the jury's decision, and now we will ask them to spare his life," defense attorney Rob Sanders said.
The jury took three hours to reach a verdict in the Sept. 25, 2006, slaying.
That night, Bradshaw walked to the police station to report the murder, and then called 911 after finding the agency's door locked. He gave officers the keys to his house, where they found Memro in his bed, a bloody trail from the bathroom and a knife in the kitchen sink.
Central to the case was a videotaped confession that Bradshaw gave homicide investigator Shon McGuire.
Defense attorney Gayle Graziano tried to cast doubt on that confession, arguing that Bradshaw was in shock and was only answering yes to the detective's questions.
"McGuire could have asked him if he killed Santa Claus, and he would have said he did," she told the jury.
But the prosecutor argued that Memro's killing involved several conscious acts, requiring time and thought.
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Assistant State Attorney Matt Foxman told the jury. "The murder of Lisa Memro took time and it took commitment."
Sentinel Staff Writer
July 22, 2008
DeLAND
He had walked to a police station to confess to murder, leading police to a blood-filled bathtub, a dead woman in his bed and the knife in the kitchen sink.
Now Russell Bradshaw, 22, could forfeit his life for the crimes against Lisa Anne Memro, 21, of New Smyrna Beach. Bradshaw was found guilty Monday of killing Memro and sexually abusing her body.
The jury will return next week to recommend whether Bradshaw should get life in prison or the death penalty. Circuit Judge James R. Clayton will sentence him, but a jury recommendation usually is given great weight.
"We respect the jury's decision, and now we will ask them to spare his life," defense attorney Rob Sanders said.
The jury took three hours to reach a verdict in the Sept. 25, 2006, slaying.
That night, Bradshaw walked to the police station to report the murder, and then called 911 after finding the agency's door locked. He gave officers the keys to his house, where they found Memro in his bed, a bloody trail from the bathroom and a knife in the kitchen sink.
Central to the case was a videotaped confession that Bradshaw gave homicide investigator Shon McGuire.
Defense attorney Gayle Graziano tried to cast doubt on that confession, arguing that Bradshaw was in shock and was only answering yes to the detective's questions.
"McGuire could have asked him if he killed Santa Claus, and he would have said he did," she told the jury.
But the prosecutor argued that Memro's killing involved several conscious acts, requiring time and thought.
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Assistant State Attorney Matt Foxman told the jury. "The murder of Lisa Memro took time and it took commitment."
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