‘This conspiracy all fell around drugs and money’ Charlotte County Sheriff announces arrests for Trails End murders

Charlotte County’s sheriff has released details around the murders at Trails End Drive, and it was somehow motivated by drugs and money.

Sheriff William Prummel held a press conference Thursday afternoon, regarding the double murder case.

During the press conference, Prummel announced Kelly Schiano and Everett Harper were arrested for the deaths of Schiano’s husband Mario Schiano and Anthony Galotti.

“This conspiracy all fell around drugs and money,” said Prummel.

The investigation revealed the victims were heavily into the drug trade.

• Watch the full press conference below.

Court documents list a third person as a co-defendant, but their identity has not yet been revealed.

Asked if there was anyone else involved in these murders, Prummel responded, “If there is another individual responsible out there, I think you want us all to catch them, correct? So I’m not going to reveal certain information to you because we don’t need to get it out there until we know it’s not going to jeopardize the case.”

Many in the community are surprised to hear that this “true-crime” murder was just miles from their own homes

“I watch it on TV, like all the murders. It’s just weird. I’ve lived here my whole life, so I have never seen anything like this,” said Autumn Ricker, Punta Gorda resident.

Legal expert Scott Goldberg shared his insight.

“Whenever you have a conspiracy charge, it is really there to show that they are part of the premeditation. They’re a part of the planning, and they may not have actively been involved in the actual killings, but in the state of Florida and most states, that doesn’t matter,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said the charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder still qualify both for the death penalty, along with the person or people who carried out their deadly plot.

“At the time that the killings took place, the police were responding to the gunshots and they followed that investigation all the way through. We don’t know what that investigation was like or what they did or what they found, but what we do know is that the investigation led them to filing charges against the widow and the friend or the handyman or the main man,” he said.

Goldberg said proving a murder plot like this is complicated. You need a mountain of physical evidence, and he said that already having two arrests for the planning of the murders could likely indicate that prosecutors have already flipped one of the defendants.

“It sounds like they were brought in because they found the actual shooter or shooters and were able to flip them. I think they would have to have done that pretty quickly, and I think you’re very on the point. They would have had to have a lot of corroborating evidence for what the informants are telling them to charge them this quickly and feel this confident,” he said.

This murder mystery is far from solved, and Prummel said others could be involved.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the CCSO non-emergency number (941) 639-2101 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 780-TIPS. 

This is still an active investigation and WINK News will update this article with more information when it becomes available.