The Commission on Capital Cases updates this information regularly. This information; however, is subject to change and may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
WELCH, ANTHONY (W/M)
DOB: 04/18/78
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Brevard County Case #00-44691
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Tonya Rainwater
Attorney, Trial: J. Randall Moore – 18th Circuit, Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Christopher S. Quarles – 7th Circuit, Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: TBA
Date of Offense: 12/14/00
Date of Sentence: 03/07/06
Circumstances of Offense:
On 12/19/00, the bodies of Rufus Johnson, 69, and his wife, Kyoko Johnson, 62, were found in their home in Melbourne, Florida. During the autopsies, the medical examiner found an unsigned extortion note in the shirt pocket of Kyoko Johnson. The note claimed that an unnamed employer hired the author to murder Rufus Johnson for $5,000. The note outlined a plan for Mr. Johnson to retrieve funds from his bank while the author held Kyoko Johnson hostage. If Rufus Johnson did not return in one hour, she would be killed. The note confessed that the author did not want to hurt Rufus Johnson because of Johnson’s help in trying to save the life of the author’s brother. This information led investigators to Anthony Welch whose brother, Ricky, had committed suicide years before. Rufus Johnson had helped Anthony perform CPR.
Welch was arrested on 12/21/00 and confessed the same day to both murders and to stealing property from the Johnsons’ home.
Additional Information:
Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case No. |
Community Supervision Length |
|
12/29/96 |
Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure |
01/30/98 |
Brevard |
9628255 |
0Y 12 M 0D |
|
12/29/96 |
Burglary |
01/30/98 |
Brevard |
9628255 |
0Y 12 M 0D |
|
12/29/96 |
Theft |
01/30/98 |
Brevard |
9628255 |
0Y 12 M 0D |
Trial Summary:
01/09/01 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Kyoko Johnson)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Rufus Johnson)
Count III: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon
Count IV: Trafficking Stolen Property
Count V: Grand Theft Motor Vehicle
01/07/05 Defendant entered guilty plea; court proceeds to penalty phase.
11/21/05 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.
03/07/06 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Kyoko Johnson) – Death
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Rufus Johnson) – Death
Count III: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon – Life
Count IV: Trafficking Stolen Property – 15 Years
Count V: Grand Theft Motor Vehicle – 5 Years
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 06-698
992 So.2d 206
04/10/06 Appeal filed
09/25/08 Death sentence vacated; remanded to Circuit Court for new penalty phase
10/16/08 Mandate entered
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:
The new penalty phase has been pending since the Florida Supreme Court Direct Appeal Mandate of 10/16/08.
Case Information:
On 04/11/06. Welch filed a direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court, citing the following issues: (1) the trial court erred in overruling the appellant’s timely objection and allowing the State to present irrelevant evidence that Welch has previously declined cocaine when offered by his roommates, resulting in an unwarranted denigration of valid mitigation that Welch was high on cocaine at the time of the murders; (2) the trial court abused its discretion by denying the appellant’s cause challenge of a juror who clearly believed that death was the appropriate penalty; (3) the trial court erred in denying the appellant’s motion to suppress his statement where law enforcement did not scrupulously honor his right to remain silent; (4) the appellant’s death sentence is constitutionally infirm where the jury’s recommendation was tainted by inflammatory evidence that one victim was killed on her birthday and that other victim was a cardiac patient; (5) the trial court erred in refusing to require the prosecutor to give a gender-neutral reason for the state’s first peremptory challenge of a female juror; (6) the trial court erred in overruling the appellant’s timely and specific objection when the prosecutor improperly argued that justice required the imposition of the death penalty; (7) the trial court erred in instructing the jury, over timely and specific objection, on the heightened premeditation aggravating circumstance where it was not supported by any quantum of evidence and was ultimately rejected by the trial court; (8) the trial court erred by admitting inflammatory photographs which were overly gruesome and not relevant to an contested issue; (9) the death sentence imposed in this case is disproportionate; and (10) Florida’s death-sentencing scheme is unconstitutional under the Sixth Amendment pursuant to Ring v. Arizona. On 09/25/08, the Florida Supreme Court vacated Welch’s death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase in the Circuit Court. The mandate was entered 10/16/08.
______________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 08/15/08 AEH
Approved: 00/00/00 RM