The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information; however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
TANZI, Michael (W/M)
DC# K04389
DOB: 02/27/77
Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Monroe County Case # 00-00573
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Mark Jones
Attorney, Trial: William Kuypers – Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Andrew Stanton – Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: TBA – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 04/25/00
Date of Sentence: 02/19/03
Circumstances of Offense:
Michael Tanzi was convicted and sentenced to death for themurder of Janet Acosta.
During her lunch hour on April 25, 2000, Janet Acosta wasseated inside her van with the window rolled down, reading a book at theJapanese Gardens in Miami, Florida. At the same time, Tanzi was strandedin Miami with no means of returning to his home in Key West. Tanziapproached Acosta’s van, asking her for a cigarette and the time. WhenAcosta was distracted, Tanzi punched her repeatedly in the face and gainedentry into the van. Holding her wrist and threatening her with a razorblade, he drove the van to Homestead, Florida.
When they reached Homestead, Tanzi stopped at a gas stationwhere he bound and gagged Acosta with materials found in her van. He took53 dollars in cash, purchased cigarettes and a soda, and took Acosta’s bankcard. He also forced Acosta to perform oral sex but stopped her fromcontinuing because her teeth were loose from the earlier beating. Tanzicontinued driving on to Tavernier in the Florida Keys.
In Tavernier, Tanzi stopped at approximately 5:15 p.m. towithdraw money from Acosta’s account using her personal identificationnumber. Soon thereafter, he stopped again at a hardware store to purchaseduct tape and razor blades. At approximately 6:30 p.m., they arrived atSugarloaf Key. It was there that Tanzi decided he would have to eliminateAcosta as she was impeding his progress and leaving her alive would result inhis swift capture. He drove to an isolated area in Cudjoe Key, told herhe was going to kill her, and began to strangle her. He stopped to placeduct tape over her mouth, nose, and eyes in an attempt to quiet her and thenstrangled her until she expired. Tanzi then left Acosta’s body in awooded area.
Tanzi then drove to Key West, where he used Acosta’s ATMcard, smoked marijuana, and visited friends. He had planned to purchasemore drugs with her money and to alter the appearance of the van, but thepolice found Acosta’s van after her friends had reported her missing. When the police approached Tanzi about the van, he had receipts in his pocketdocumenting his use of Acosta’s ATM card and told the police that he “knew whatthis was about.” He waived his rights and began confessing to theassault, abduction, robbery, sexual battery, and murder of Janet Acosta.
He repeated his confession in great detail on audio andvideotape. He also showed the police where he had left Acosta’s body andwhere he had disposed of the duct tape and rope.
Trial Summary:
05/16/00 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Janet Acosta)
Count II: Carjacking with aDeadly Weapon
Count III: Kidnapping
Count IV: ArmedRobbery
02/19/03 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0[1]
04/11/03 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
04/21/03 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Janet Acosta) – Death
Count II: Carjacking with aDeadly Weapon – Life
Count III: Kidnapping – Life
Count IV: Armed Robbery – Life
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 05-457
964 So.2d 106 (2007)
03/16/05 Appeal filed
05/10/07 Appeal denied
05/25/07 Motion for Rehearing filed
08/27/07 Rehearing denied
09/12/07 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court– Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 07-8033
128 S.Ct. 1243 (2008)
11/26/07 Petition filed
02/19/08 Petition denied
Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 00-573
02/18/09 Motion filed
03/24/10 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Motion Appeal
FSC# 10-807
(Pending)
04/30/10 Appeal filed
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 11-81
(Pending)
01/13/11 Petition filed
Case Information:
Tanzi filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on03/16/05. There were six issues raised. First, Tanzi claimed thatthe trial court erred in denying Tanzi’s motion to withdraw his guiltyplea. Second, he argued that the trial court erred in permittingquestions regarding lack of remorse. Third, Tanzi claimed that the trialcourt erred in permitting impeachment of Tanzi’s expert witness by a specificand unrelated act of misconduct. Fourth, he argued that the trial court erredin admitting Tanzi’s confession to sexual battery. Fifth, Tanzi claimedthe trial court erred in assessing the murder in the course of a felonyaggravator twice. Sixth, he argued that the trial court did not properlyconsider and weigh mitigation evidence. The Court affirmed Tanzi’sconviction and death sentence on 05/10/07. On 05/25/07, Tanzi filed aMotion for Rehearing, which was denied on 08/27/07. The Florida SupremeCourt issued a mandate on 09/12/07.
On 11/26/07, Tanzi filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariin the United States Supreme Court. This petition was denied on 02/19/08.
On 02/18/09, Tanzi filed a 3.851 Motion in the CircuitCourt. This motion was denied on 03/24/10.
Tanzi filed an appeal of the 3.851 Motion in the FloridaSupreme Court on 04/30/10. This appeal is currently pending.
Tanzie filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in theFlorida Supreme Court on 01/13/11. This petition is currently pending.
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Report Date: 10/01/07 AEH
Approved: 11/05/07 RM
Updated: 02/08/11 EMJ