Cape Coral man handed three life sentences for 2011 double homicide
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A Cape Coral man convicted of killing a couple in Fort Myers learned Friday he will serve three life sentences in the 2011 deaths.
A Lee County jury found Michael Anthony Parks guilty of two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a firearm in the deaths of Lisa Collins and Steven Rios. Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle presided over the four-day trial.
Parks had been arrested 11 years after the murders.
Assistant State Attorneys Daniel Feinberg and Jody Brown, who are part of the State Attorney's Office Cold Case Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case. Fort Myers Police investigated the case.
Parks was charged in 2022 for the Sept. 14, 2011, deaths Collins and Rios, murdered at their East River Drive home.
Authorities said Parks knew Collins and Rios, who he killed between 11 p.m. and midnight.
He shot Rios three times and Collins eight times with a .9-millimeter firearm, which Michael Parks' wife, Lisa Parks, had bought that day, police reports indicated.
Amy Parks on Oct. 24, 2022, pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling and accessory after the fact for her involvement in the murders. She currently serves a five-year prison sentence and testified during the trial.
During Michael Parks trial, the state called 20 witnesses and submitted more than 120 pieces of evidence.
Kyle on Oct. 16 OK'd the remote deposition of Richard Hintermeister, a "key witness" in the case.
According to a motion filed by the state on Oct. 12, Hintermeister was a witness to the crime and could identify Parks and the vehicle leaving the scene on East River Drive after the murders.
The motion indicated Hintermeister couldn't be in the courtroom due to a planned trip.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fort Myers 2011 double murder: Cape Coral man sentenced to life
