Fort Myers man sentenced to 30 years for setting house fire to cover up murder

Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:

A judge sentenced a Fort Myers man to 30 years in prison for crimes that led to a woman’s death in 2019.

Odessey Lester, 36, plead guilty on Monday to second-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, first-degree arson of a dwelling, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. 

In 2019, a fire broke out at a home on Robin Avenue in Lehigh Acres. Law enforcement and fire rescue teams found Mildred Rivera Lester, his wife at the time, dead in a bathtub.

Lester’s family said she was found dead, locked in her bathroom at home. Her son attempted to break the window to the bathroom to save his mother from the fire.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Lester beat her and then set fire to the home to cover up the crime.

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