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.
SILVIA, William (W/M)
DOB: 03/25/65
18th Judicial Circuit, Seminole County Case # 06-CF-4522A
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Donna L. McIntosh
Attorney, Trial: Timothy Caudill and Kevin Proulx – PublicDefender’s Office
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Timothy Caudill – Public Defender’sOffice
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: TBA
Date of Offense: 09/22/06
Date of Sentence: 01/28/09
Circumstances of Offense:
William and PatriciaSilvia were married for four years, until their separation in 2006. Patriciaand her two children from a previous marriage moved in with her mother andstepfather, Betty and Patrick Woodard, in Winter Park, Florida. William madeseveral unannounced visits at night to speak to Patricia, but he was refused eachtime.
William became homelessafter his separation from Patricia, which led him to sleep in his car or rentmotel rooms. Silvia was fired from his job on 09/22/06. Later that day, hepurchased a pump-action, 12-gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun and ammunition andrented a local motel room.
The Woodards were havinga cookout that evening. Patricia, her children, parents, sister, brother, andother friends were there. William arrived at the home around 9:00 p.m., withthe shotgun in his truck. He asked to speak to Patricia in hopes of reconcilingwith her. They had a brief conversation outside, and Patricia returned insidethe house. William walked back to his truck to retrieve the shotgun and firedtwo shots in the air while walking back to the Woodward’s house. Patricia’suncle, sister, and daughter were all in the carport at the time. Her uncle fellto the ground between two vehicles, and her sister returned to the house. AsPatricia’s daughter was trying to head inside to the house to find her brother,William pointed the gun at her from one foot away. Patricia and Betty were inthe kitchen, which was connected to the carport. Betty opened the door to thecarport and was shot in the face. Patricia was shot in the head while she gotice out of the refrigerator. When Patrick heard gunshots, he came out of thebedroom to check on everyone. He found Patricia lying in front of therefrigerator and Betty outside the door to the carport, on the floor, andcovering her face. William was at the end of the carport with the gun in hishand, pointing it at Patrick and pumping it.
Patricia died at thescene of the crime due to numerous pellet gunshot wounds to her head, accordingto the medical examiner. Betty was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center andwas considered to be in “grim” condition due to the blood loss and massivefacial and head trauma. She survived the shooting. William was arrested in theearly morning of 09/23/06 in the parking lot of the motel where he had rented aroom. He was transported to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and on theway he confessed to shooting Patricia. Police officers searched William’s motelroom and found a shotgun, shotgun shells, weapons manuals, and empty beerbottles. The shotgun shells were the same as the ones found at the crime scene,and a firearms analyst concluded that shells found at the crime scene were alsofired from the shotgun found in William’s motel room.
Trial Summary:
10/24/06 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Patricia Silvia)
Count II: AttemptedFirst-Degree Murder (Betty Woodard)
06/06/08 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
07/21/08 Jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1
01/28/09 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death (Patricia Silvia)
Count II: AttemptedFirst-Degree Murder – Life in Prison (Betty Woodard)
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 09-220
02/09/09 DirectAppeal filed
04/07/11 FSCaffirmed convictions and sentence
Case Information:
Silvia filed a DirectAppeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 02/09/09. He raised the followingclaims: (1) Cold, calculated, and premeditated aggravator; (2) great risk ofdeath to many persons aggravator; (3) death sentence is not proportionate; (4)irrelevant evidence in penalty phase; (5) permission of improper victim impactevidence; and (6) Ring v. Arizona. On 04/07/11, the Florida SupremeCourt affirmed Silvia’s convictions and sentence.
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Report Date: 05/05/11 EMJ
Approved: 05/05/11 RM
Updated: 05/05/11 EMJ