Mark Dean Schwab
| Mark Dean Schwab | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 16, 1968 Dover, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 1, 2008 (aged 39) Florida State Prison, in Starke, Florida, U.S. |
| Criminal penalty | Death sentence |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder, kidnapping, sexual battery |
Mark Dean Schwab (December 16, 1968 – July 1, 2008) was an American prisoner in the state of Florida, where he was executed for the April 18, 1991, rape and murder of 11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez, Jr. The victim was the eldest son of a musician in the band "The Killer Dudes". Schwab was convicted of the crime in 1992 and sentenced to death. In addition, he received two life sentences.
Schwab was released from prison on March 4, 1991, after serving three years of an eight-year sentence for the aggravated rape of a 13-year-old boy committed in 1987. The rest of his sentence was commuted and he was placed on 15 years of probation.
A month later, Cocoa resident Junny Rios-Martinez, Jr., went missing. Schwab had seen Junny's picture in the March 21, 1991 edition of Florida Today. He became friendly with the boy and his family, introducing himself as an associate of Malcom Denemark from that newspaper. After getting to know Junny, Schwab exploited his interest in surfing by saying he had left Florida Today for a job at a surfing magazine. On April 18, 1991, Junny was spotted getting into a U-Haul truck.
On April 20, 1991, Schwab called his aunt in Ohio, claiming a man named "Donald" forced him to kidnap and rape Junny, under threat of killing Junny's mother, Vicki. The next day, police tapped a phone call with Schwab's aunt's permission, and determined Schwab's location. Schwab was arrested, and led police to Junny's dead body, found in Canaveral Groves, a rural area of Brevard County, Florida in a footlocker that was "nearly shut" covered in palm fronds, debris, and wrapped in rope.
On May 15, 1991, Schwab appeared in a state court in Brevard County, pleading not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping a child under age 13 and sexual assault of a child under age 13. Prosecutors sought the death penalty. Schwab waived his right to a jury trial, and was convicted on May 22, 1992. At trial, witnesses had testified that Schwab was raped at gunpoint by a friend's father as a child. On July 1, 1992, he was sentenced to death for the murder, and given two life sentences for the kidnapping and sexual battery of a child under the age of 13. In addition, his probation was revoked on the previous rape conviction, and he was re-sentenced to an additional life sentence, giving him a total of three life sentences.
...
Wikipedia