On Tuesday, August 28, 2018, Peter Avsenew was sentenced to the death penalty after murdering a gay couple in Wilton Manors, Florida in 2010. Peter Avsenew was convicted in 2017 of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kevin Adams and Steven Powell. The couple let Avsenew into their home after answering the sexually suggestive ad he posted on Craigslist.The victims, Adams and Powell, were shot and killed in the home they shared together for 30 years.
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| Photo of Peter Avsenew smiling in court |
Self-proclaimed prostitute sentenced to death for killing gay couple in 2010
Peter Avsenew showed no remorse for killings during, after trial
Peter Avsenew showed no remorse for killings during, after trial
By Amanda Batchelor - Senior Digital Editor
Posted: 11:11 AM, August 28, 2018
Updated: 1:52 PM, August 28, 2018
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A self-proclaimed prostitute was sentenced to death Tuesday for the 2010 killing of a gay couple from Wilton Manors.
Peter Avsenew was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kevin Adams and Steven Powell.
Police said the couple was found shot to death and wrapped in blankets in their Wilton Manors home on the day after Christmas in 2010.
Avsenew, 32, placed an advertisement on Craigslist and moved in with the couple weeks before their deaths.
The prosecution claimed during the trial that Avsenew used the couple's credit cards and was found in possession of their car. Avsenew's defense attorney claimed that his client found them dead and then stole the items instead of calling police.
Avsenew's mother turned him in to authorities after he made suspicious statements to her.
In addition to murder, Avsenew was convicted on two counts each of armed robbery, grand theft auto, credit card fraud and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Avsenew has shown no remorse in court for the killings.
The murderer even sent a hand-scribbled letter to Broward County Judge Ilona Holmes after his conviction, seeming to boast about the killings.
"It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence," Avsenew wrote. "I will always stand up for what I believe in and eradicate anything in my way. Homosexuals are a disgrace to mankind and must be put down. These weren't the first and won't be the last."
Avsenew expressed similar sentiments at a Spencer hearing in June, saying "I wholeheartedly have nothing to lose and I'm going to take it out on everybody I can."
Man Who Killed Florida Gay Couple Threatens More Murders, Gets Death Penalty
“It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence.”
“It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence.”
by Brandon Voss 14h ago
An execution has been ordered for Peter Avsenew, who was convicted last fall of killing a Florida gay couple, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Avsenew, 33, murdered Kevin Powell, 47, and Stephen Adams, 52, a few days before Christmas 2010. He then stole their car, cash, and credit cards.
Powell and Adams, who were together 30 years, had invited Avsenew into their Wilton Manors home after responding to a sexual classified ad he posted on Craigslist.
In January, after a jury unanimously voted for the death penalty, Avsenew showed his lack of remorse by flipping the victims’ grieving families the middle finger in open court.
Avsenew told the jury, “I have no regrets in my life and I am proud of the decisions I’ve made.” He later told a judge he had killed before and would kill again.
Avsenew’s court-appointed attorney argued that the defendant had suffered childhood trauma, including his sister’s murder and alleged sexual abuse by his stepfather.
“It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence,” Avsenew wrote in a letter to Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes. “Homosexuals are a disease to mankind and must be put down.”
Although Holmes had the power to override the jury’s death penalty recommendation, she ultimately ruled that Avsenew be punished by execution.
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.newnownext.com/peter-avsenew-murder-gay-couple-wilton-manors-florida-death-penalty/09/2018/….. ….. https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/1709349015853724
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Photo of the victims Steven Adams and Kevin Powell |
Read this cold blooded killer’s note to the judge after being sentenced to death
Convicted killer Peter Avsenew was sentenced to death in a Florida courtroom at the unanimous recommendation of the jury that convicted him. Yesterday, Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes upheld the jury’s sentence and ordered his execution.
Avsenew, 32, was convicted of murder in the 2010 deaths of Kevin Mark Powell, 47, and Stephen Adams, 52, in Wilton Manors, a city near Ft. Lauderdale with a large LGBT population. Prosecutors said Avsenew used Craigslist to get invited to the victims’ home and then killed and robbed them, leaving with their money, a car, and other belongings.
During the sentencing hearing, he opted to defend himself instead of letting his lawyer present arguments. He expressed no regret and did not ask the jury to spare his life.
Related: Man who murdered gay couple flipped off the victims’ families as he was sentenced to death
“I have no regrets in my life and I am proud of the decisions I’ve made,” he told the court.
Minutes after the sentencing, he flipped off the victims’ families.
“After what happened in that courtroom just now, I’m happy that he’s being put to the death penalty,” one of the victim’s sister, Missy Badget, said.
And in a chilling handwritten note sent to the judge after sentencing, Avsenew continued his lack of remorse.
“It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence. I will always stand up for what I believe in and eradicate anything in my way,” he wrote. “Homosexuals are a disgrace to mankind and must be put down. These weren’t the first and won’t be the last.”
Avsenew is the first person sentenced to die after a law was passed requiring a unanimous jury for a death sentence. The date of execution has not been set.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/08/read-cold-blooded-killers-note-judge-sentenced-death/….. …..
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