The Florida Supreme Court today affirmed the two judgments of conviction and death sentences for Steven J. Lorenzo, nearly two decades after he drugged, sexually assaulted, and murdered Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz in separate incidents in December 2003.
The Court’s decision, released this morning, upheld the lower court’s rulings, citing Lorenzo’s knowing and voluntary guilty plea and the proper consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors.
Lorenzo had pleaded guilty to the first-degree murders of Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz in December 2022. Following a non-jury penalty phase, he was sentenced to death for both heinous crimes. The case came before the high court on mandatory review due to the imposition of capital punishment.
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The horrific details of the murders, as laid out in the trial court’s sentencing order and detailed in the Supreme Court’s opinion, reveal a disturbing pattern of deception, violence, and depravity. In December 2003, Lorenzo met Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz at a local club, Club 2606 in Tampa, and lured them back to his home at 213 West Powhatan. There, he drugged and attacked them.
Jason Galehouse was last seen leaving Club 2606 with two men, one of whom was identified as Lorenzo, in the early hours of December 20, 2003. His body has never been found.
Michael Wachholtz went missing the following night, after texting a friend he was “On my way home.” His badly decomposed body was discovered 17 days later, on January 6, 2004, wrapped in a bed sheet and stuffed in the cargo compartment of his own Jeep in a parking lot.
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A joint investigation by the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the DEA led investigators to Lorenzo. Key evidence included “AIM” chat logs between Lorenzo and an accomplice, Scott Schweickert, discussing their mutual desire to drug and forcibly engage in dominant sex with unsuspecting young men, as well as plans to obtain and murder a victim.
Schweickert later admitted to participating with Lorenzo in both killings. He confessed that after killing Jason Galehouse, they dismembered the body in Lorenzo’s garage using a reciprocating saw and disposed of the remains in separate dumpsters. DNA testing confirmedJason Galehouse’s blood on cobblestone bricks from Lorenzo’s garage and on a gas mask found in Lorenzo’s bedroom, with astronomical odds against the DNA belonging to anyone else.
Regarding Michael Wachholtz’s murder, Schweickert admitted that he and Lorenzo lured Michael back to Lorenzo’s home, where Lorenzo provided the man with a drink that rendered him helpless. After torturing and sexually assaulting Michael Wachholtz, they killed him. Lorenzo then took photographs of the lifeless man inside his home before they wrapped the body in a bed sheet (matching one found at Lorenzo’s residence) and abandoned it in Wachholtz’s Jeep. Digital evidence seized from Lorenzo’s computers included 20 timestamped photographs of Michael Wachholtz’s body, taken around 5:00 a.m. on December 21, 2003, showing evidence of sexual battery.
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Lorenzo was indicted for the murders in 2016, already serving lengthy federal prison sentences for multiple counts of distributing GHB with intent to commit violence, with Galehouse and Wachholtz among the victims of those prior crimes.
In his appeal, Lorenzo raised two issues: whether the trial court erred in allowing him to represent himself, and whether the court improperly considered a mitigation report prepared by standby counsel. The Supreme Court rejected both arguments.
The Court found no abuse of discretion in allowing Lorenzo to represent himself, noting an “extensive Faretta inquiry” conducted by the trial court and repeated confirmations of Lorenzo’s desire for self-representation. The ruling highlighted Lorenzo’s “lucid, very intelligent” demeanor, his ability to make legal arguments, file numerous pro se pleadings (including a 100-plus page mitigation notice), and effectively cross-examine witnesses. The Court also cited a psychologist’s conclusion that Lorenzo’s “sovereign citizen” assertions were likely a delay tactic, not indicative of mental incompetence.
Regarding the mitigation report, the Court found that the trial court properly considered it, even though Lorenzo later objected to its use. The report was submitted “on his behalf and at his request” during plea negotiations, with Lorenzo’s active participation in its development. The Court emphasized that even when a defendant waives the right to present mitigation, the court retains the responsibility to consider all mitigating evidence in the record. Ultimately, the Court found that even if there had been an error in considering the report, it would have been harmless, as the court relied on other sources for its mitigation findings, including Lorenzo’s own written submissions.
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Finally, the Supreme Court conducted its mandatory review of the guilty plea, concluding that it was entered knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. The plea colloquy demonstrated Lorenzo’s understanding of the charges, consequences, and the constitutional rights he was waiving.
Chief Justice Muñiz and Justices Canady, Couriel, Grosshans, Francis, and Sasso concurred in the opinion. Justice Labarga concurred in the result, reiterating his continued adherence to views on comparative proportionality review expressed in a previous dissenting opinion.
The ruling brings a definitive end to the direct appeals process for Steven J. Lorenzo, solidifying his death sentences for the murders that shocked the Tampa Bay area more than two decades ago.
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