Steven Lorenzo, a 63-year-old man from Florida, has been sentenced to death for the brutal murder of two men. Lorenzo pled guilty to drugging, torturing, raping, and killing Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz, both 26 years old, in 2003.
During his sentencing hearing on 24th February 2023, Lorenzo asked the judge to sentence him to death, stating that it was in his best interest because of the comfort he would receive on death row.
He explained that he had been living in a private cell for the last five years and wanted to maintain his privacy.
In a 147-page letter filed to the court in November, Lorenzo withdrew his not-guilty plea and requested the death penalty for his crimes, stating that the “comforts they get in death row are a lot more comfortable than it is in the federal system.”
The judge granted Lorenzo’s request, stating that it was the punishment he deserved for his horrific crimes.
In December 2003, Lorenzo and Scott Schweickert lured Galehouse and Wachholtz separately to Lorenzo’s home in Tampa, where they were killed.
Hillsborough State Attorney Susan Lopez described Galehouse’s murder as “the very definition of cold, calculated, and premeditated” in her opening statements.
Lorenzo’s sentencing brings closure to the families and loved ones of Galehouse and Wachholtz, who have been waiting for justice for nearly two decades.
