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.
SEIBERT, Michael (W/M)
DOB: 01/12/68
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County Case # 98-8943
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Stanford Blake
Attorney, Trial: Richard Houlihan & Kenneth White – Assistant Public Defenders
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Scott W. Sakin – Special Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Leor Veleanu & Roseanne Eckert – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 03/17/98
Date of Sentence: 03/24/03
Circumstances of Offense:
On 03/17/98, two officers responded to an attempted suicide call at Michael Seibert’s apartment. The officers knocked on the door. Seibert eventually answered and said he was okay, told them to leave, and then shut the door. The officers demanded to come inside and forced their way through the door under the impression there was an emergency situation where someone could be hurt. The officers checked Seibert for weapons and injury. While looking over Seibert’s apartment, one of the officers noticed a severed foot in the bath tub and yelled to the other officer there had been a homicide. Seibert took off running but was tackled and apprehended in the apartment hallway. Seibert was then taken into custody. While being booked, the officer noted that Seibert’s behavior was unusual and that he acted as though he was “out of it”. During questioning, Seibert said he was high on heroin and cocaine.
The body parts found in Seibert’s bath tub belonged to Karolay Adrianza. Adrianza had gone out the previous evening to the beach with her boyfriend and never returned home. Seibert had a roommate named William “Ace” Green who did not pay rent and made money by selling drugs. Green testified that on March 17, 1998, he saw Seibert with Karolay Adrianza and her boyfriend, Danny Navarres, in their apartment. The three ingested a large quantity of cocaine. Seibert sent Green and Navarres to the store to buy cigarettes and beer. When they returned, Navarres did not enter the apartment and said he had to go buy something and would be back later.
When Green arrived back at the apartment alone, Adrianza asked for her boyfriend and made several phone calls to see where he was. After about 30 minutes, Seibert asked Green to leave and keep an eye out for Navarres stating that he wanted to be alone with Adrianza. Green had noticed that Seibert had been flirting with Adrianza. Green left the apartment and went to a laundromat to talk to a friend who worked there. After a while, Green wanted back into the apartment. He did not have a key so he called several times, but Seibert would not answer. Green then knocked on the door and Seibert said to come back later making comments that he only needed a little bit longer before he would be in her pants. Later on, when Green knocked on the door again, Seibert asked him to go buy some cigarettes. Green refused and said he wanted inside. An argument occurred and, at one point, Seibert stated he was going to kill himself. Green then called the police and reported a suicide attempt.
Adrianza’s body was in the bath tub clothed in a shirt and underwear. Most of the soft tissue below her waist had been removed (approximately 40 to 50 pounds) which included part of her abdominal wall, the large bowel and part of the small bowel, which had been flushed down the toilet. Adrianza’s left hand, left foot and left ankle and been separated from the body. Examiners estimated that the cutting and flushing of her body that Seibert did would have taken about an hour. Adrianza died from strangulation. There was also evidence of Seibert’s semen inside Adrianza’s body. It could not be determined if Seibert had sex with Adrianza before or after her death.
Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense |
Offense |
Sentence |
County |
Case No. |
Prison Sentence |
|
05/08/86 |
Kidnap; Comm. or Fac. Felony |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8611454 |
15Y 0M 0D |
|
05/08/86 |
Grand Theft Motor Vehicle |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8611454 |
5Y 0M 0D |
|
05/08/86 |
Burg Unoccstruc/CV or Att. |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8611454 |
15Y 0M 0D |
|
05/12/86 |
1st DG Mrd/Premed. Or Attempted |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8607179 |
30Y 0M 0D |
|
05/12/86 |
Kinap; Comm. or Fac. Felony |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8607179 |
30Y 0M 0D |
|
05/12/86 |
Grand Theft Motor |
01/05/87 |
Broward |
8607179 |
5Y 0M 0D |
Trial Summary:
04/01/98 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
11/21/02 Jury returned guilty verdicts on the sole count of the indictment.
02/11/03 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3.
03/24/03 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 03-800
923 So. 2d 460
04/28/03 Appeal filed.
02/16/06 FSC affirmed conviction and sentence.
05/04/06 Rehearing denied.
05/22/06 Mandate issued.
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 06-5049
127 S. Ct. 198
06/28/06 Petition filed.
10/02/06 USSC denied petition.
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 98-8943
09/11/07 Motion filed.
02/28/08 Motion denied.
03/11/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
03/17/08 Motion for Rehearing denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 08-708
04/22/08 Appeal filed.
07/08/10 FSC affirmed the denial of postconviction motion.
07/23/10 Motion for rehearing filed.
04/11/11 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – Habeas Petition
FSC# 08-1615
08/26/08 Petition filed.
07/08/10 Petition denied.
07/23/10 Motion for rehearing filed.
04/11/11 Motion denied.
Case Information:
On 04/28/03, Siebert filed a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Seibert claimed that error occurred in the court denying his motions to suppress evidence and statements from the police entering his apartment non-consensually without a warrant, thus violating Siebert’s constitutional rights. He also contended that error occurred in the trial court refusing his motion for mistrial based on irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence presented by the state, which violated his Fourteenth Amendment right. In his appeal, Siebert also argued that, under the circumstances of his case, the death sentence is disproportionate and violates the Constitution. Siebert argued that the jury did not have a fair consideration in the sentencing recommendation due to the prosecutor’s improper and prejudicial reference to irrelevant criminal activity as a non-statutory aggravating circumstance. His final arguments referred to the Florida Capital sentencing scheme as being unconstitutional for several reasons. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Seibert’s conviction and sentence on 02/16/06.
On 06/28/06, Seibert filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court that was denied on 10/02/06.
On 09/11/07, Seibert filed a 3.850 Motion for Post-Conviction Relief in the State Circuit Court. This motion was denied on 02/28/08. On 03/11/08, Seibert filed a Motion for Rehearing which was denied on 03/17/08.
On 04/22/08, Seibert filed a 3.851 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The denial of the postconviction motion was affirmed on 07/08/10. A motion for rehearing was filed on 07/23/10, and it was denied on 04/11/11.
On 08/26/08, Seibert filed a Habeas Petition in the Florida Supreme Court. This petition was denied on 07/08/10. A motion for rehearing was filed on 07/23/10, and it was denied on 04/11/11.
________________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 06/09/06 DDK
Approved: 06/12/06 JFL
Updated: 04/14/11 EMJ