Courtroom continues to analyze Sebring murderer’s brain

The courtroom remains tense as experts analyze Zephen Xaver‘s brain scans.

Xaver has already admitted to killing five women execution style inside a Sebring bank in 2019, Friday afternoon, the penalty phase continued.

The defense said a tumor influenced his actions, while the prosecution disagreed.

The question of the day was whether a tumor, in some way, drove Xaver to kill five women. The state’s medical expert said no. In fact, he doesn’t believe Xaver has a tumor at all.

The court continued to pick apart Xaver’s brain, literally. Focusing on his brain scans spanning over a decade.

Laserpointer in hand, diagnostic radiologist Dr. Marc Glickstein broke down each layer of Xaver’s scans.

These same scans, where a medical expert from the defense previously pinpointed a tumor, one they said had potentially caused brain damage for Xaver. 

Glickstein’s analysis? Xaver’s so-called “tumor” is nothing more than a white matter lesion,
which, in his expert opinion, would have no behavioral impact on Xaver.

“This has a very benign appearance. It’s totally non-specific. We see things like this very frequently, in fact, on a daily basis. It does not have the appearance of a tumor to me,” said Glickstein.

The state plans to have more medical experts take the stand, introducing the jury to second opinions before they decide Xaver’s fate.

Xaver’s trial will continue at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.