Former US Army soldier sentenced for 2018 murder of Estero couple

A former U.S. Army soldier from Wisconsin has been sentenced to consecutive life sentences for the 2018 double homicide and armed robbery of an Estero couple.

Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, 27, was found guilty on March 8 and was sentenced on Tuesday.

Zwiefelhofer was sentenced as a result of multiple convictions, including conspiracy to commit robbery and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery, interfering with commerce, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence which resulted in death, conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act. 

• RELATED: Two former US Army soldiers indicted for 2018 Estero double-murder

According to testimony presented at trial, Serafin “Danny” Lorenzo Jr., 53, and Deana K. Lorenzo, 50, were found dead near the Galleria Center on Corkscrew Road in April of 2018 with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body.

Further investigation revealed that the couple had traveled to Estero from Brooksville, Florida, to purchase several firearms from a listing on a website called Armslist.

Zwiefelhofer was identified as one of two individuals who was believed to have murdered the couple during an armed robbery of the $3,000 that the couple intended to use to purchase the guns.

Zwiefelhofer’s co-defendant, Craig Lang, was extradited back to the U.S. from Ukraine in June for his role in the shooting. He is currently in Lee County Jail awaiting trial.

Zwiefelhofer, who had previously fought in Ukraine in 2017 after going AWOL from the U.S. Army, planned to fight the Venezuelan government and committed the robbery of the couple to get money to fund his travel to Venezuela.

“There’s no question that Zwiefelhofer belongs behind bars and his life sentence guarantees that will happen,” said Special Agent Matthew Fodor from the FBI Tampa Division. “When it comes to tackling the violent crime threat, our model is to work together with our state and local law enforcement partners to maximize impact, and this case highlights those efforts with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. We will stop at nothing to protect our communities from these threats.”

The FBI and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

“In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, no stone was left unturned in the investigation and federal prosecution of this case,” stated U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “This defendant committed heinous crimes, and justice was served.”     

Zwiefelhofer has also been ordered to pay restitution of $10,886 to the victims’ family members.