State seeks execution for Michael Despres, accused of killing fiancée, staging body in truck at Sebastian Walmart parking lot

VERO BEACH — The former owner of a Sebastian handyman business who in October told detectives he’d planned to kill his fiancée days before he strangled her, could face a state execution if he’s convicted of capital murder.

Prosecutors declared their intent to seek the death penalty for Michael Despres, 57, the same day an Indian River County grand jury on May 31 indicted him on one count of first-degree murder with a weapon in the homicide of Jeanine Bishop, 67, court records  show.

He’s been held without bond at the Indian River County Jail since his arrest Oct. 5, 2021, records show. His lawyer Assistant Public Defender Dorothy Naumann, who has filed a not guilty plea on his behalf, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Despres is accused of strangling Bishop Oct. 4, 2021 at her home in the 400 block of Briarcliff Circle, Sebastian, the day before he carried out a scheme to report finding her body in her truck in the Sebastian Walmart parking lot where police discovered her dead inside a black Chevrolet Silverado.

Report: Former handyman said he planned to strangle fiancée, leave body at Walmart lot

Sebastian police: Man killed fiancée at home, staged body in truck outside Walmart

A medical examiner later found ligature marks on Bishop’s neck and a 2-inch laceration "consistent with strangulation."

Sebastian police officers found Bishop in the passenger seat of her truck parked in the east side of the store's front lot after Despres walked into Walmart, 2001 U.S. 1, at about 7:45 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2021 and told a manager of an "emergency involving his fiancée in the parking lot," a report stated.

A Walmart manager called 911.

'Admitted strangling' Bishop

After agreeing to speak with investigators during a video recorded interview, Despres initially stated he had come to Walmart to check on Bishop after she had failed to return from a shopping trip.

Despres claimed that morning he received a call from Bishop that she said she had picked up a hitchhiker. When he found her unresponsive in her truck, Despres said that’s when he went inside Walmart seeking help.

“He thought the hitchhiker may have done something to the victim,” Detective Kenneth McDonough reported Despres writing in a statement.

Despres also admitted "he had been angry at (Bishop) and had been contemplating killing her for several days prior to her death.

"Despres admitted strangling Bishop from behind with the garrote — which he had made out of rope tied to two handles — while she sat in a kitchen chair around 7:30 p.m. Monday,” McDonough reported.

He said he made the weapon from items in his workshop.

Despres told detectives he placed her body on a bed in the home's master bedroom, and slept in the same bed until about 5:30 a.m., the next day.

Then, Despres said, he drove his van to Walmart, rode his bicycle 2½ miles back home and drove Bishop's truck back to Walmart. He moved his van to a nearby Dollar Tree parking lot before walking back to Walmart to report an emergency to a store manager.

Walmart surveillance, McDonough noted, "clearly depict(ed)" everything Despres said under questioning.

According to county records, Bishop owned the home in the gated Ashbury community, off County Road 512, since it was built in 2013.

Homicide database: Treasure Coast

Despres, who lived with Bishop, was a handyman who had a business called Purrfection Handyman Services, LLC. It was registered at Bishop’s address but has been inactive since 2019, records showed.

Death penalty trial

If Despres is found guilty of first-degree murder with a weapon during the first phase of a trial, the same jury that convicted him would then determine his sentence, which can only be life in prison or execution.

To determine whether capital punishment is warranted, the state is required to identify the aggravating circumstances, or reasons why a sentence of death is legal and appropriate.

Prosecutors cited two statutory aggravators related to Bishop's murder including:

• The killing was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel

• It was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner

Prosecutors weigh such aggravators against any potential mitigating evidence, such as substance abuse, neurological troubles or diminished mental health.

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Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman, who declined to discuss details of the case, said “based on those aggravating circumstances, he (Despres) qualifies for the death penalty.”

According to papers Workman filed Nov. 16, during recorded jail calls Despres stated “he is going to use his traumatic brain injury to his favor,” and stated, “he can’t believe he did it.”

Despres also said Bishop’s home was left to him in her will, and “he wants it.”

Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers, and is writer and co-host of Uncertain Terms, a true crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Michael Despres accused of killing fiancée, staging body in truck