Love Me or I'll Kill You
Page 29
Paula ended her plea by asking the court for mercy.
Judge Padgett had read and heard numerous reports and motions. He sat through the testimony and he listened to the jury and their sentencing recommendations. There would be no more testimony or pleas.
The judge looked at Paula and pronounced sentence: “Miss Gutierrez, it’s the judgment, order, and sentence of the court that you be confined in the Florida State Prison for the remainder of your natural life on each of these three offenses. Any questions about that?”
Paula muttered no.
“Fingerprint the defendant, please,” Padgett said.
Paula was fingerprinted and escorted from the courtroom.
Deeann Athan appealed the conviction to the Fourth District Court of Appeals. Athan asked for a new trial for her client, arguing that Paula had been denied a lawyer, the flight from the robbery was over when Lois was killed, and that she had not been allowed to use the battered woman/spouse defense. On March 15, 2006—the Ides of March—the court affirmed and confirmed the conviction.
By letting the verdicts stand without comment, the court slammed the door on Paula’s right to appeal to a higher court. The only thing Paula could do was ask for postconviction relief, which would mean she would file a petition that claimed Athan did an inadequate job of defending her. This rarely occurred and, even more rarely, succeeded. Barring a miracle, Paula Gutierrez will spend the rest of her life in prison.
On the positive side Paula looks and feels better than she has in years. At the Lowell Correctional Institute in Ocala, Florida, she is active in several faith-based programs. Paula, in prison, feels safer and happier than she ever did during her time with the monstrous Chino DeJesus.
The effects of a murder spread far beyond the death of the victim; a murder is like a rock dropped in a pool that creates scores of concentric ripples. In this case of Lois Marrero’s murder, Ashley will never know her father and will see her mother only behind bars. The Gutierrez family has lost a sister and a daughter. Lissette Santiago lost a son she loved, and Chino took his life. Mickie Mashburn lost her life companion and the person with whom she planned to spend her retirement. Had Lois lived, she and Mickie would have been retired almost three years now.
On August 17, 2001, just over a month after Lois was killed, Mashburn and Lois’s family became engaged in a legal battle over Lois’s pension benefits. Lois earned about $55,000 a year and the pension benefits would have been approximately $28,000 a year for the rest of the beneficiary’s life. The Marrero family opposed Mashburn’s petition, claiming that she and Lois were more like roommates than spouses, and that Lois intended to leave Mashburn because she had fallen in love with another woman.
The nine-member Tampa Fire and Police Pension Board (TFPPB) unanimously rejected Mashburn’s claim. Florida doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages and Chairman Tom Singleton said that the TFPPB had no other choice. Lois had also died without a will and her estate would go to her closest blood relatives.
Before her petition was turned down by the TFPPB, Mashburn had held gay rights groups at arm’s length because she didn’t want to become a cause célèbre. But dozens of gay and human rights groups from across the nation were outraged by the decision and offered to help once again. This time Mashburn welcomed them.
Mashburn was granted a second hearing on August 28, 2001, and her claim was again unanimously rejected. The pension benefits were placed in the Marrero Estate, whose primary beneficiaries were Lois’s mother, Maria, and sister, Brenda. The name of Lois’s alleged new love was never revealed and no one stepped forward to identify herself.
On July 1, 2003, the Family and Estate of Lois Marrero filed a wrongful death suit against the City of Tampa, in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, alleging that police didn’t give Lois the support she needed. The suit, which sought almost $3 million in damages, stated that the police should have established a perimeter around the Crossings and that Lois should not have confronted Chino and Paula by herself. This was a hot pursuit, the city argued, and Lois didn’t wait for backup or for a perimeter to be formed. Several police officers testified that Lois had not done well in previous training for similar situations and had to repeat parts of the training several times.
The suit also claimed that the police were negligent by having only one man in the search helicopter. The TPD had no clear guidelines on this issue when Lois was killed, but have since changed its directives to make it mandatory for two men to be in a support helicopter. The suit alleged that radio communications between police officers were flawed. On January 29, 2006, a six-member jury found in favor of the city. The jury deliberated less than two hours before reaching a verdict.
The lawsuit and death benefit conflicts among the family and friends Lois left behind was a sad ending to the even sadder story of Lois Marrero’s murder. May she rest in peace.
The inside of Flowers By Patricia, the scene of Chino and Paula’s first robbery.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
The tape Chino used to bind Catherine Haddad during the flower shop robbery.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
After having her hands and legs restrained by duct tape, Catherine Haddad was left in the flower shop cooler.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Paula (standing) wields the Mac 11 while employees and customers are forced to lie face down at the Bank of America.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Chino (wearing hat at upper left) searches for cash during the robbery at the Bank of America.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Officer Lois Marrero.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
The blood-stained undershirt worn by Officer Lois Marrero. The fatal bullet struck her just above her protective vest.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
The radio that fell from Lois Marrero’s hand when Chino killed her.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
This SUV was used in both robberies.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Stained cash litters the street after Chino threw it away when a dye pack exploded.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
The Crossings apartment complex where Chino and Paula holed up with hostage Isaac Davis and held police at bay for more than three hours.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Bullets fired by Chino slammed into the police car driven by Officer Gary Metzger when he pulled up to The Crossings apartment complex.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Chino’s bullet grazed Officer Cole Scudder’s thigh.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Members of a SWAT team hold a position during the hostage stand-off.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Detective Roberto Batista negotiated with Chino and Paula for almost three hours in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Chino’s slumped body after he killed himself during a hostage stand-off with police.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
A forensic technician measures a bullet hole in a window at Sherry Williams’s apartment.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Bullet casings litter the walkway at The Crossings.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Rubber gloves lie on a bathroom counter where Paula tried to clean red dye from cash robbed from the Bank of America.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
The 9mm Glock that Paula took from murdered police officer Lois Marrero.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
A fully-loaded magazine for Chino’s Mac 11, which he used in two robberies and to kill Officer Lois Marrero.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Depart
ment)
After Chino killed himself, the Mac 11, magazine, 9mm round, and shoulder strap lay splattered with blood.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
A note that Paula wrote and tore up. It reads, “Mamacita, I love you so much! Please forgive us for messing up! We (heart) you! Mamacita, I will miss you!”
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Paula during a break in a police interview following her surrender.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Public defender Deeann Athan fought hard for Paula.
(Author’s photo)
Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober led the prosecution in its case against Paula.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Paula hides her face after being taken into custody at The Crossings.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Prosecutor Jay Pruner delivers a devastating blow to the defense during Paula’s trial.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Chino’s clothing on a morgue body tray.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Paula at Tampa Police Department headquarters after her arrest.
(Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department)
Circuit Court Judge J. Rogers Padgett presided over Paula’s trial. (Courtesy of the
Hillsborough County Public Information Office)
Mickie Mashburn struggles to keep her composure at Lois’s funeral.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
A police honor guard carries the flag-draped casket containing the body of Lois Marrero.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Police officers throughout Florida paid their last respects to their fallen comrade.
(Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune)
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.
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Copyright © 2006 by Lee Butcher
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