Day 3 of testimony in penalty phase of man convicted of murdering 5 women in Sebring

Reporter: Claire Galt Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

No signs of fear or regret. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t frown.

Zephen Xaver did not look like a man on trial for his life in court Wednesday.

The state said Xaver had the same stone-cold expression after he walked into a SunTrust bank in Sebring and shot and killed 5 women in January of 2019.

On Wednesday, jurors heard more evidence to determine whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison for a man accused of killing five women inside a bank in Sebring.

Xaver is already a convicted killer. He pled guilty to the murders last year.

A guilty plea is not enough for Jermaine Montogue, who says he wants Xaver to die because Xaver killed his wife, Jessica, who worked at the bank.

Their daughter is now growing up without her mother.

Montogue and the state hope jurors agree after hearing testimony after testimony from witnesses like Victor Sparks.

On Tuesday, Jurors heard emotional testimony from Sparks. He went to do some banking that January day, but when he got there, the doors were locked.

Tears streamed down his face as he recounted the horrific scene.

“I could see across the lobby, sorry. Five people, five people laying on their bellies facing away from me,” said Sparks as he got choked up. “I started walking back to the car, and when I was maybe halfway to the car, I heard two loud bangs.”

In interviews with police, Xaver repeatedly said voices made him do it.

The most damning piece of evidence is Xaver’s own 911 call to police 6 minutes after the murders. The state says the call proves Xaver wanted to kill.

“I thought that I could. I wanted to.” said Xaver during the 911 call “[I] felt like doing it… been telling myself to kill people since I was 11.”

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