Rory Conde

Case record: Rory Conde

Overview

Rory Conde was convicted in Florida of the first-degree murder of Rhonda Dunn and was sentenced to death. Conde later pleaded guilty to the murder of five other victims and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms without parole.

Conde was referred to as the “Tamiami Trail Strangler.” The Tamiami trail was described as the nickname given to the final section of Highway 41 from Tampa through to Miami, which was described as a dumping ground for the killings.

Timeline

• 09/16/94 — Lazaro Comesana was found strangled to death and dumped at the roadside.
• 10/08/94 — Elisa Martinez was found strangled to death.
• 11/20/94 — Charity Nava was found dead, strangled, just off the trail.
• 11/25/94 — Wanda Crawford was recovered on the trail after being strangled to death.
• 12/14/94 — Conde was among the individuals tied to murders by DNA analysis; the Dunn murder sequence was described as occurring on five prior dates.
• 12/17/94 — Necole Schneider was found strangled to death.
• 01/12/95 — Rhonda Dunn was found strangled to death.
• 09/16/94 – 01/10/95 — Date range of offense was listed.
• 06/19/95 — Frantic banging was heard from an apartment belonging to Rory Conde; officers found Gloria Maestre bound and gagged with duct tape.
• 06/24/95 — Conde was arrested at his grandmother’s house in Hialeah.
• 07/12/95 — Conde was indicted on six counts of first-degree murder.
• 07/26/95 — Count VI was severed from the other counts of the indictment.
• 10/19/99 — A jury returned a guilty verdict on Count VI (the Dunn murder).
• 12/14/99 — A jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3.
• 03/07/00 — Conde was sentenced to death for Count VI (First-Degree Murder (Dunn)).
• 04/03/01 — Conde was sentenced to life terms for Counts I–V.
• 04/10/00 — Conde filed a direct appeal with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/04/03 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
• 02/02/04 — Conde filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 04/05/04 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• 03/24/05 — A 3.851 Motion with the Circuit Court was filed and was pending.

The offence

Victims and alleged sequence

Six victims were described as having been slain: Lazaro Comesana, Elisa Martinez, Charity Nava, Wanda Cook Crawford, Necole Schneider, and Rhonda Dunn.

• Lazaro Comesana was described as a cross-dressing male prostitute.
  • Conde’s body was described as being found on September 16, 1994; he was described as having been strangled to death and dumped at the roadside.
• Elisa Martinez was described as victim number 2.
  • She was described as being found strangled to death on October 8, 1994.
• Charity Fay Nava (also given as Charity Nava) was described as victim number 3.
  • She was described as being found dead on November 20, 1994; she was described as having been strangled.
  • It was described that the killer left his mark on her back and wrote taunting phrases including ‘Third’ and ‘if you can catch me’.
• Wanda Cook Crawford (also given as Wanda Crawford) was described as recovered on November 26, 1994 and described as a strangled victim added to the list.
  • A separate case-information list described Wanda Crawford with a date of death of 11/25/94.
• Necole Schneider was described as being identified as the fifth victim and described as found strangled to death on December 17, 1994.
  • A separate case-information list described the date of death of Necole Schneider as 12/17/94.
• Rhonda Dunn was described as the murder associated with Count VI.
  • The case-information list described her date of death as 01/12/95.
  • Conde’s killing of Dunn was described in detail in the Dunn murder circumstances.

Dunn murder circumstances (Count VI)

On 01/13/95, Rory Conde picked up prostitute Rhonda Dunn and took her to his apartment. After twice engaging in sexual relations, Dunn got up to go to the bathroom. Conde followed her and began to manually strangle her from behind. Dunn and Conde struggled and fell to the floor, but Dunn eventually died from asphyxiation. Conde disposed of her body by driving it to another location and leaving it on the side of the road.

Five previous murders described in the trial record

The case information described that five previous victims were murdered on dates listed as:

• Lazaro Comesana (09/16/94)
• Elisa Martinez (10/08/94)
• Charity Nava (11/20/94)
• Wanda Crawford (11/25/94)
• Necole Schneider (12/17/94)

On each occasion, Conde was described as picking up prostitutes, engaging in sexual relations, strangling the victims, and disposing of the bodies. The sequence was described as connected through DNA evidence.

Confession details and conduct after killing

After his arrest, Conde consented to searches of his apartment and car and the taking of saliva and blood samples. The day after his arrest, Conde confessed to the murders. DNA evidence linked Conde to six murders.

The case information described that after each murder, Conde knelt over the body and verbally blamed the victim for his marital problems. It was also described that the murders were preceded by the break-up of his marriage.

The case information described post-mortem sexual relations with each of the victims. It further described that in each of the six murders, Conde strangled the victim from behind at his house, then performed anal sex on the dead body before dumping the bodies on the Tamiami Trail. In addition, it described that Conde killed Lazaro after discovering, during sex, that the prostitute was a man.

During questioning after the arrest, Conde blamed his split from his wife Carla as the catalyst for the killings.

Marital context and defense contention

Lawyers for Conde argued that the killing spree resulted from sexual abuse Conde suffered as a child at the hands of his uncle. It was described that Conde’s shock at discovering that Lazaro Comesana was man during their sexual encounter caused flashbacks to the abuse he suffered between ages 6 and 12. A defense lawyer also argued:

“His life fell apart when he went to a prostitute who turned out to be a man,”

and:

“In a very real sense, he was put on a track when he was abused as a child that was impossible for him to turn away from anymore.”

A defense framing was also described that the spree started when Conde encountered Lazaro Comesana, and that the spree was described as lasting roughly six months.

Investigation

Neighbors were described as hearing banging on the walls from inside Conde’s apartment and calling police. Police were described as finding a woman there bound and gagged with duct tape.

During the investigation, it was described that Miami police connected the six victims to one unknown suspect via DNA analysis.

Fire rescue personnel were described as finding a woman, naked and bound in duct tape, trapped in an apartment in June 1995. Officers investigating the kidnapping described evidence in the apartment that linked the tenant to the six prostitute murders.

Gloria Maestre was described as the woman found bound and gagged with duct tape. Gloria pointed out her attacker via photos found in the house.

Arrest

Conde was arrested on June 24, 1995 at his grandmother’s house in Hialeah.

Trial

Charges and indictment

Conde was indicted on 07/12/95 as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lomensana)
• Count II: First-Degree Murder (Martinez)
• Count III: First-Degree Murder (Nava)
• Count IV: First-Degree Murder (Crawford)
• Count V: First-Degree Murder (Schneider)
• Count VI: First-Degree Murder (Dunn)

Count VI was severed from the other counts of the indictment on 07/26/95.

Verdict and sentencing for the Dunn murder (Count VI)

A jury returned a guilty verdict on Count VI of the indictment on 10/19/99. On 12/14/99, the jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3.

Judge Jerald Bagley sentenced Conde to death on 03/07/00. The hearing was described as a 9:30 a.m. hearing, and Bagley issued the death penalty without comment. Assistant State Attorney Abraham Laeser, who tried the case, declined comment.

The case-information section listed additional trial summary milestones including that the jury heard Conde’s confession and found him guilty, and that Bagley concurred with the jury’s recommendation.

Direct appeal filed by Conde

Conde filed a direct appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/10/00, citing the following errors:

• denying challenges to six jurors;
• granting the State’s motion to strike a prospective juror;
• denying a motion for judgment of acquittal;
• admitting evidence of the prior murders;
• admitting testimony of collateral crimes;
• admitting evidence of police warnings to Dunn about a series of murders and Conde’s flight at the time of arrest;
• failing to limit prosecutorial comments during opening and closing arguments;
• denying a motion to suppress a confession;
• finding the aggravating circumstances;
• failing to find mitigating circumstances;
• admitting evidence about prior violent felonies;
• excluding mitigation testimony on the basis of a discovery violation;
• lacking proportionality regarding the death sentence;
• and Florida’s unconstitutional death penalty statute.

On 09/04/03, the court affirmed the convictions and sentences.

Sentencing

Death sentence (Count VI)

Conde was sentenced to death for Count VI: First-Degree Murder (Dunn) on 03/07/00.

Life sentences for the other five murders

In April 2001 as part of a plea bargain, Conde pleaded guilty to the remaining five murders. The plea agreement resulted in sentencing by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jerald Bagley to five consecutive life terms without parole.

The case-information section listed:

• 04/03/01 — Sentenced as follows:
  • Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lomensana) — Life
  • Count II: First-Degree Murder (Martinez) — Life
  • Count III: First-Degree Murder (Nava) — Life
  • Count IV: First-Degree Murder (Crawford) — Life
  • Count V: First-Degree Murder (Schneider) — Life

The status field further described that Conde pleaded guilty to the murder of five others and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms without parole on April 5, 2001.

Appeals

Conde filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 02/02/04. The petition was denied on 04/05/04.

Conde filed a 3.851 Motion with the Circuit Court on 03/24/05 that was pending.

It was described that an appeal of the death ruling automatically would be filed for Conde and that no decision had yet been made on when or if he would be tried for the other deaths.

It was also described that Conde would return to court on 09/04/03 to find that he had failed to get his death sentence, for the murder of Rhonda Dunn, overturned.

Other details

People and roles listed

• Rory Conde — defendant.
• Rhonda Dunn — victim; a 21-year-old prostitute.
• Lazaro Comesana — alleged first victim; cross-dressing male prostitute.
• Elisa Martinez — alleged victim.
• Charity Fay Nava — alleged victim.
• Wanda Cook Crawford — alleged victim.
• Necole Schneider — alleged victim.
• Gloria Maestre — the woman found bound and gagged with duct tape in the apartment during the investigation.
• Carla — Conde’s wife; Conde blamed his split from her as a catalyst for the killings.
• Jerald Bagley — sentencing judge.
• Abraham Laeser — Assistant State Attorney who tried the case.
• Jeffrey Fink — defense lawyer.
• J. Rafael Rodriguez — Special Assistant Public Defender.
• Benjamin Waxman — Special Assistant Public Defender for direct appeal.
• Gustavo Garcia-Montes — Registry for collateral appeals.

Physical and case identifiers listed

• Conde was listed as “CONDE, Rory (W/M) DC# M25274 DOB: 06/14/65”.
• The case was listed as Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, with Case # 95-19816.
• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Jerald Bagley.
• Attorney, Trial: Jeffrey Fink & J. Rafael Rodriguez – Special Assistant Public Defenders Attorney.
• Direct Appeal: Benjamin Waxman – Special Assistant Public Defender.
• Collateral Appeals: Gustavo Garcia-Montes – Registry.

Charge and offense date lists

The circumstances of offense listed that on 01/13/95 Conde picked up Rhonda Dunn and took her to his apartment. A case-information section also listed:

• Date of Offense: 09/16/94 – 01/10/95
• Date of Sentence: 03/07/00

Descriptions included in the proceedings

The account described Conde as a married, 34-year-old building-supply salesman. It also described an alleged six-month spree beginning in September 1994 and ending roughly six months later.

It was described that Bagley issued the death sentence during a 9:30 a.m. hearing and that Bagley gave no comment.