Man convicted in 2013 St. Petersburg houseboat murders asks for life sentence
When a man was convicted of the 2013 murders of two people on a St. Petersburg houseboat, jurors recommended he die by lethal injection.
But last year, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his sentence and ordered that the case return to trial court for a new penalty trial.
The trial to decide whether he is to be executed began Monday.
Reynaldo Figueroa-Sanabria, wearing a baggy, red jail uniform, was represented by Keith Hammond and Daniel Hernandez. Instead of death, he asked for life in prison and for a trial without a jury.
This means Judge Pat Siracusa will make the final decision about Figueroa-Sanabria’s sentence.
Figueroa-Sanabria, 51, was granted a second chance to ask the court to spare his life after Florida justices found a Pinellas judge had misinformed him about his options for representation during the penalty phase of his trial.
Figueroa-Sanabria stabbed John Travlos and Germana Morin to death on Travlos’ houseboat in the early-morning hours of April 12, 2013. He had worked as a helper for Travlos, waxing and detailing his boat, named Relax-Inn. Over the 13-day trial five years ago, prosecutors argued that Figueroa-Sanabria had murdered the couple to steal their jewelry.
He let himself in through the boat’s sliding glass door, then forced Travlos at knifepoint to open a safe, where he kept jewelry and gold, prosecutors said. Figueroa-Sanabria killed them both — cutting Morin’s throat and stabbing Travlos 11 times in the torso.
During testimony Monday, Robert Hodge, a witness who was in frequent contact with Figueroa-Sanabria at the time of the murders, said that Figueroa-Sanabria told him he was getting frustrated with Travlos and Morin because he wasn’t getting paid for the work he was doing.
Other witnesses who testified Monday answered questions from prosecutors about where they were the day Travos and Morin were found dead and how they found out. One witness said she noticed the jewelry in question disappeared after the couple were killed.
A mountain of evidence was used to convict Figueroa-Sanabria in 2019, including his DNA found on a roll of duct tape used to bind the couple and Travlos’ blood that was found on the inside of the van Figueroa-Sanabria’s girlfriend drove to pick him up after he called for a ride early that morning.
The criminal case took six years to go to trial. During the penalty phase, Figueroa-Sanabria told Siracusa that he didn’t want evidence presented to the jury on his behalf that might weigh against the death penalty, according to the Supreme Court opinion.
Siracusa gave Figueroa-Sanabria two choices — his attorney could present mitigating evidence on his behalf, or he could represent himself. Figueroa-Sanabria chose to represent himself.
The state Supreme Court ruled the judge misrepresented Figueroa-Sanabria’s options. The court upheld his conviction, but overturned his death sentence.
Siracusa will decide whether Figueroa-Sanabria will get a life sentence or the death penalty. The trial is expected to last through next week.
Times staff writer Jack Prator contributed to this report.
