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CONNOR, Seburt Nelson (B/M)
DC# 124517
DOB: 06/05/42
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case #92-39548
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Maxine Cohen-Lando
Attorneys, Criminal Trial: Louis Jepeway,Esq. & Eugene Zenobi, Esq.
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Louis Campbell – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: David S. Molansky,Esq. – Registry
Date of Offense: 11/19/92
Date of Sentence: 06/19/98
Circumstances of Offense:
During 1970’s, Seburt Connor wasinvolved in an extramarital relationship with Margaret Bennett. When shediscovered that Connor was married, she ended their relationship. Margaretlater married Lawrence Goodine and had two daughtersby him, Karen and Jessica. When Margaret and Lawrence separated in thelate 1980’s, she renewed her relationship with Connor, and he became a fatherfigure to her two girls.
In 1992, Margaret told Connor that she did not want to seehim anymore. Connor continued to harass Margaret for several months afterthat. He reportedly drove by her house shooting a gun and one ofMargaret’s neighbors reported receiving a menacing phone call from a man shebelieved to be Connor. The caller threatened to kill Margaret and herdaughter Karen. Margaret’s home had also been burglarized several times,with the burglar stealing bed sheets, towels and linens.
On 07/28/92, Margaret got an ex parte domestic violenceinjunction against Connor and a permanent injunction was issued on 08/19/92.
Connor reportedly told one of Margaret’s neighbors that hewould stop harassing her if she would get back together with her husband,Lawrence Goodine. As such, Margaret askedLawrence to move in with her in September 1992. The harassment, however,did not stop. Connor bought a black Cadillac that was identical to the onedriven by Margaret Bennett and was seen numerous times driving slowly throughtheir neighborhood.
On 11/19/92, Margaret and her daughters left for work andschool, respectively, while Lawrence remained at home. He was last seenat home at approximately 2:30 p.m. Ten year-old Jessica returned homefrom school that afternoon and immediately went across the street to play witha friend. When Jessica noticed a black Cadillac in her driveway, she wenthome. Shortly after, Jessica returned to her friend’s house and told hershe was leaving. Her friend saw her leave in the black Cadillac with aman who she assumed was Jessica’s father, Lawrence Goodine.
When Karen Goodine returned homethat afternoon, neither Lawrence nor Jessica were there, and it appeared thatsomeone had been in the house, so she alerted her mother. Margaret thencalled the police and noted that she thought Connor had something to do withthe disappearances. Detectives went to the Connor residence in the earlymorning hours of 11/20/92. Connor told detectives that he had not seenLawrence or Jessica that day.
In the late afternoon of 11/20/92, the body of Lawrence Goodine was found in a wooded area near the Ft. Lauderdaleairport. He had suffered five severe blows to the head, each of whichcould have rendered him unconscious and could have been fatal. Whendetectives went to the Goodine residence to reportthe discovery of his body, they noticed blood on the carpet and a brokenchair. Detectives hypothesized that Lawrence was bludgeoned to death withthe leg of the chair.
Detectives returned to Connor’s residence on 11/21/92 toquestion him further. Connor voluntarily agreed to go to the policestation. Detective Tymes asked Connor if shecould search his Cadillac and the cottage behind his home and he agreed, givingwritten consent. Detective Tymes noticedbloodstains in the back and trunk of the Cadillac, but nothing appearedsuspicious in the cottage.
Although he was not under arrest, Connor was advised of hisMiranda rights, which he waived. During questioning, detectives noticedblood on Connor’s socks and shoes. Detective Tymesasked Connor if she could take his socks and shoes, Connor agreed and signed aconsent form. DNA tests revealed that the blood on his socks and shoeswas that of Lawrence Goodine. Detectives thenasked if they could search Connor’s house and the cottage behind it. Connoragreed and signed another consent form.
A subsequent search of the Connor’s cottage uncovered thebody of Jessica Goodine, wrapped in a comforter andwedged between the bed and the wall. The cause of death was determined tobe manual strangulation and the time of death was estimated at some time lateon 11/20/92. The police obtained a search warrant to impound Connor’sCadillac for a more extensive examination. The blood found in the car wasdetermined to belong to Lawrence Goodine.
Trial Summary:
12/02/92 Thedefendant was indicted on the following:
CountI: First-DegreeMurder (Lawrence Goodine)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Jessica Goodine)
CountIII: Kidnapping
CountIV: Burglary with Assault
02/11/98 Thejury found the defendant guilty on all counts charged in the indictment.
02/26/98 Uponadvisory sentencing, the jury, by an 8 to 4 majority, voted for the deathpenalty for the murder of Jessica Goodine andrecommended life imprisonment
for themurder of Lawrence Goodine.
06/19/98 Thedefendant was sentenced as follows:
CountI: First-DegreeMurder (Lawrence Goodine) - Life
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Jessica Goodine) - Death
CountIII: Kidnapping – 20 years
CountIV: Burglary with Assault – 20 years
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court - Direct Appeal
FSC #93,697
803 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 2001)
08/17/98 Appeal filed.
09/06/01 FSC affirmed the convictions and sentence of death.
12/17/01 Rehearing denied.
12/17/01 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court - Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC #01-9268
535 U.S. 1103
03/27/02 Petition filed.
05/28/02 Petition denied.
State Circuit Court - 3.850 Motion
CC #92-39548
05/23/03 Motion filed.
06/04/04 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Motion Appeal
FSC# 04-1283
979 So. 2d 852
06/30/04 Appeal filed.
11/15/07 Appeal denied.
11/30/07 Motion for rehearing.
04/10/08 Rehearing denied.
04/28/08 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 06-2268
08/07/06 Petition filed.
08/20/07 Petition dismissed.
United States District Court, Southern District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 07-23009
04/14/08 Petitionfiled.
05/18/10 Petitiondenied.
06/17/10 Motionfor Certificate of Appealability (COA) filed.
10/13/10 Motiongranted in part.
State Circuit Court - 3.850Motion
CC #92-39548
12/10/08 Motionfiled.
12/24/08 Motiondenied.
United StatesCourt of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Habeas Appeal
USCA# 10-12847
(Pending)
06/14/10 Appealfiled.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition ofthe Sentence:
The disposition of Connor’s Direct Appeal took over threeyears to complete due to filing extensions.
Case Information:
On 08/17/98, Connor filed a Direct Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court. In that appeal, he argued that the trial court erred indenying his motion to suppress evidence (his socks and shoes, bloody clothing,the body of Jessica Goodine and materials seized fromhis Cadillac). Connor claimed that his illegal arrest “tainted thesubsequent consents that he gave for the searches of his house, his car, andhis clothes.” The Florida Supreme Court found that, even if initialencounter was illegal, subsequent consents for searches had not beentainted. Connor additionally claimed that that the trial court erred inits application of the “avoid arrest” aggravating factor. The FloridaSupreme Court agreed; however, they noted that the application of four otheraggravating factors far outweighed the existence of any mitigation, making theerror harmless. Connor also argued the consideration and application ofother aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The Florida Supreme Courtaffirmed his convictions and sentence of death on 09/06/01.
On 03/27/02, Connor filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariin the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 05/28/02.
On 05/23/03, Connor filed a 3.850 Motion in the StateCircuit Court, which was denied 06/04/04.
On 06/30/04, Connor filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with theFlorida Supreme Court, which was denied on 11/15/07. The rehearing was deniedon 04/10/08 and a mandate was issued 04/28/08.
On 08/07/06, Connor submitted a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the Florida Supreme Court, which was dismissed on 08/20/07.
On 11/19/07, Connor filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus in the United States District Court, which was denied on 05/18/10. On06/17/10, Connor filed a Motion for COA, which was granted in part on 10/13/10.
On 12/10/08, Connor filed a 3.850 Motion in the StateCircuit Court, which was denied on 12/24/08.
On 06/14/10, Connor filed a Habeas Appeal in the UnitedStates Court of Appeals, which is pending.
Institutional Adjustment:
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
-------- ---- ---------------------------- -------------------
10/18/98 20 BRIBERYOR ATTEMPTED FSP
10/19/98 0 DEST. OF ST. PROP. FSP
01/13/99 12 DISOBEYINGORDER FSP
01/20/99 60 DISOBEYINGORDER FSP
02/11/99 0 POSS OF NARCOTICS FSP
03/14/99 30 POSS OFCONTRABAND FSP
05/27/99 60 DISOBEYINGORDER FSP
07/25/99 30 DEFACING STATEPROP. FSP
07/25/99 60 LYING TOSTAFF FSP
08/29/99 0 DISOBEYING ORDER FSP
08/30/99 0 DISOBEYING ORDER FSP
08/30/99 0 DISOBEYING ORDER FSP
02/24/01 0 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C.I.
08/27/01 0 UNARMED ASSAULT UNION C. I.
11/15/01 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
12/20/01 0 DISOBEYINGORDER UNION C. I.
01/30/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
02/28/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
04/04/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
04/18/02 0 POSS OF CONTRABAND UNION C. I.
05/13/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
05/16/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
06/20/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
08/05/02 0 FAILURE TOCOMPLY UNION C. I.
08/11/02 0 UNARMED ASSAULT UNION C. I.
09/07/02 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
01/06/03 0 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C.I.
01/08/03 0 UNARMED ASSAULT UNION C. I.
01/10/03 0 UNARMEDASSAULT UNION C. I.
03/17/03 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
04/28/03 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
05/22/03 0 POSS OFCONTRABAND UNION C. I.
05/22/03 0 UNARMED ASSAULT UNION C. I.
10/17/03 0 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C. I.
11/21/03 0 DISOBEYINGORDER UNION C. I.
01/21/04 0 DISOBEYING ORDER UNION C. I.
01/21/04 0 DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS UNION C. I.
_______________________________________________________________________
09/04/02 – ew
09/19/02 – approved – ws
11/10/10 – updated – jjk