Lucious Boyd

Case information

Lucious Boyd was convicted in Broward County, Florida, in connection with the murder and sexual battery of Dawnia Dacosta.

The Supreme Court of Florida issued an opinion designated SC02-1590, DC# 699893. The matter was in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County. The case was numbered 99-5809. The sentencing judge was The Honorable Ronald Rothschild.

The trial attorney roles listed were Bill Laswell & James Ongley – Assistant Public Defenders (for the trial) and Gary Lee Caldwell – Assistant Public Defender (for direct appeal). Collateral appeals were handled by Suzanne Keffer – CCRC-S.

Timeline

• 12/05/98 — Dawnia Dacosta’s car ran out of gas after she returned from a midnight church service; she walked to a nearby Texaco gas station, filled a gas can, spoke with a black male in the parking lot, and was later seen getting into a teal church van with him (later identified as Lucious Boyd).
• 12/07/98 — Dawnia Dacosta’s body was discovered in an alley behind a warehouse.
• 05/14/99 — Lucious Boyd was indicted on Count I: First-Degree Murder, Count II: Sexual Battery, and Count III: Armed Kidnapping.
• 01/30/02 — A jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
• 01/30/02 — The jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.
• 03/12/02 — The jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.
• 06/21/02 — Lucious Boyd was sentenced: Count I First-Degree Murder – Death, Count II Sexual Battery – 15 Years, Count III Armed Kidnapping – Life Imprisonment.
• 07/19/02 — Boyd filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 02/10/05 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
• 11/18/05 — Boyd filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 02/21/06 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari.
• 02/23/1999 — Boyd was acquitted of the rape in the Sanders case (described in the narrative).

The offence

In the early morning hours of 12/05/98, Dawnia Dacosta’s car ran out of gas while she was returning from a midnight church service. She walked to a nearby Texaco gas station and filled a gas can with a gallon of gas. People at the gas station saw Dacosta speaking with a black male in the parking lot. Dacosta was last seen getting into a teal church van with the man to whom she had been speaking, later identified as Lucious Boyd.

On 12/07/98, Dacosta’s body was discovered in an alley behind a warehouse. The body was wrapped in a shower curtain liner, a brown bed sheet, and a yellow bed sheet. A purple laundry bag and two large black trash bags covered her head.

Forensic evidence showed that Dacosta died due to a penetrating head wound. Bruising on Dacosta’s head was consistent with the face plate of a reciprocating saw. Wounds to the chest, arms, and head were consistent with a torx screwdriver. Dacosta’s body also had vaginal bruising.

The court-described circumstances linked Boyd to a church van and tools. Lucious Boyd did routine maintenance for the Hope Outreach Ministry Church, which owned a teal van. Boyd was driving the van on the weekend of the Dacosta murder. Witnesses at the gas station where Dacosta was last seen alive recalled seeing the word “Hope” on the teal van that Dacosta was seen leaving the gas station in. The van contained various tools owned by the church, including a set of torque screwdrivers and a reciprocating saw. Tire tracks on one of the sheets used to cover Dacosta were consistent with the tires on the church van.

Additional evidentiary statements in the narrative described autopsy findings. An autopsy report described that markings on Dacosta’s body matched the type of screwdriver and saw that were missing from the van. The narrative also described that an autopsy report showed Dacosta was stabbed 36 times in the chest and that the injury that killed her was a stab wound that went through her skull, and that her body was wrapped in a laundry bag described as one missing from the van.

Investigation

During the Dacosta investigation, detectives began looking for “Hope.”

On January 30, detectives Glenn Bukata and Kevin Kaminsky spotted the “Hope” van in front of a Christian day care center in Lauderhill. After eliminating some false leads, they interviewed the van’s owner, Rev. Frank Lloyd, on March 22. Lloyd ran Hope Outreach Ministries and stated that his handyman, Lucious Boyd, had used the van from December 4 to 7.

On March 25, a sample of Boyd’s DNA came back from the crime lab as a match to the semen found on Dacosta’s body. On the next day, he was arrested in the back of the James C. Boyd Funeral Home on Sistrunk Boulevard.

After Boyd was arrested, detectives searched his apartment (located just 200 yards from the ill-fated Texaco station) and recovered blood later found to be Dacosta’s. Two sheets that had been wrapped around the victim’s body were identified by Lewis as having disappeared from the apartment. At the same time the narrative described that Lewis’ queen-size bed vanished from the apartment.

Forensic evidence described in the case summary and narrative included DNA and hair evidence from Dacosta’s body matched Boyd’s DNA profile, and bite marks on Dacosta’s arm were consistent with Boyd’s teeth.

BSO Capt. Tony Fantigrassi described the Dacosta investigation as airtight.

Arrest

Boyd was arrested on the day after March 25, in the back of the James C.

According to the narrative, Bukata called Boyd a “cold-blooded killer without a conscience,” according to BSO records, and told him he was going to jail for raping and killing Dacosta. The narrative described that Boyd leaned forward in his chair and put his head down. Bukata thought he was about to confess, but instead Boyd asked, “What took you so long to catch me?” Then Boyd demanded an attorney. The narrative described that Boyd had been in jail ever since, awaiting trial.

Trial

On 05/14/99, Boyd was indicted:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Sexual Battery
• Count III: Armed Kidnapping

On 01/30/02, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.

The sentencing-phase recommendation described that the jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0, with the timeline listing 03/12/02 for that recommendation and also placing 01/30/02 as the jury recommendation event. The case summary also stated the jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.

Sentencing

On 06/21/02, Boyd was sentenced:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: Sexual Battery — 15 Years
• Count III: Armed Kidnapping — Life Imprisonment

Appeals

Boyd filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 07/19/02, citing the following errors: refusing to declare a mistrial due to juror discussing outside information; overruling a defense request for material; relying on insufficient evidence for conviction; overruling an objection to admitting evidence of other crimes; overruling an objection to the State’s cross-examination of Boyd; failing to consider the testimony of competency experts; failing to order a competency hearing; allowing Boyd to waive mitigation; giving great weight to the jury’s recommendation; allowing invalid presentation of mitigation by not allowing Boyd’s counsel to call witnesses; finding aggravating circumstances not supported by the evidence; allowing photographs of the victim to be presented; failing to properly assess mitigation; and failing to proportionately sentence.

On 02/10/05, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.

Boyd filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 11/18/05. The petition was denied on 02/21/06.

Outcome

Boyd’s convictions and sentences were affirmed. His death sentence remained in effect after the Florida Supreme Court affirmed and after the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari.

Other offences and related narrative detail

The narrative included additional allegations and case-related accounts involving other people, but these were described alongside Boyd’s history rather than as outcomes of the Dacosta proceeding.

Sanders rape case acquittal (described in narrative)

The narrative described that Boyd was jailed on rape charges in connection with Lori Sanders. It described that Boyd was acquitted of the rape nearly two years later, on February 23, 1999, a month before his arrest for Dacosta’s murder.

The narrative included details about the alleged attack and the defense’s approach at the Sanders trial, including defense attorney Robert Buschel’s argument. It also described that police spokesperson Reed said no charge was filed in an earlier case because the victim later declined to prosecute, and that “With no victim, there’s no crime.”

Alleged disappearance and murder involving Alston and Floyd (described in narrative)

The narrative described that Boyd was a suspect in the disappearance of Patrece Alston and that the narrative described Boyd’s alleged involvement, including contradictory account disputes and police views that Boyd knew where Alston’s body was located.

It also described that Melissa Floyd’s stabbed, naked body was found in some high grass near a guardrail on I95 in Palm Beach County, and that her body was found on August 13, 1997 but was not identified until four months later.

The narrative described statements by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Det. Wayne Robinson about the investigation focusing on Lucious Boyd for months, while stating that there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime.

People, roles, and names mentioned

• Lucious Boyd — defendant; handyman who did routine maintenance for the Hope Outreach Ministry Church; accused in the murder of Dawnia Dacosta.
• Dawnia Dacosta — victim; 21-year-old.
• Glenn Bukata — detective who interviewed Boyd during the arrest process (narrative).
• Kevin Kaminsky — detective (with Bukata) who spotted the “Hope” van on January 30 (narrative).
• Rev. Frank Lloyd — van owner; owner/operator of Hope Outreach Ministries; interviewed on March 22 (narrative).
• Suzanne Keffer — CCRC-S handling collateral appeals (as listed).
• Gary Lee Caldwell — Assistant Public Defender for direct appeal (as listed).
• Bill Laswell & James Ongley — Assistant Public Defenders for trial (as listed).
• Ronald Rothschild — sentencing judge (as listed).
• Tony Fantigrassi — BSO Capt. who described the Dacosta investigation as airtight (narrative).
• Mike Reed — Fort Lauderdale police spokesperson quoted in the narrative.
• Johnnie Mae Harris — witness at Texaco gas station at the night window (narrative).
• Dennis Additon — BSO deputy referenced in the narrative about a separate alleged attack (narrative).
• Robert Buschel — defense attorney referenced in narrative.
• Wayne Robinson — Palm Beach County Sheriff’s detective referenced in narrative.
• Shirley Gaines — mother who confronted Boyd (narrative).
• Bertha Mae Floyd — mother referenced in narrative.
• Melissa Floyd — described as a murdered victim.
• Patrece Alston — described as disappeared.
• Shawanna Alston — referenced in narrative.
• Sharon Morgan / Sharanda Morgan — referenced in narrative as the person describing Alston’s disappearance (narrative).
• Geneva Lewis — identified in narrative as Boyd’s girlfriend and as a witness referenced as a key witness against Boyd.
• Edna Birgs — described as mother of two children of Boyd’s children and as a former girlfriend (narrative).
• Julie McCormick — Boyd’s second wife referenced in narrative.
• Roderick Bullard — man Boyd was acquitted of killing in a described case in the narrative.
• Lori Sanders — referenced as a rape complainant in the Sanders case (narrative).
• Michelle Galloway — referenced in narrative as a person describing an alleged kidnapping/rape attempt involving a kitchen knife and later charges.

Evidentiary and physical details

• Dacosta’s body had been wrapped in a shower curtain liner, a brown bed sheet, and a yellow bed sheet.
• Forensic evidence described a penetrating head wound as the cause of death.
• Dacosta’s body had vaginal bruising.
• DNA and hair evidence from Dacosta’s body matched Boyd’s DNA profile.
• Bite marks on Dacosta’s arm were consistent with Boyd’s teeth.
• The narrative described that markings on Dacosta’s body matched the type of screwdriver and saw missing from the van and that the laundry bag had been described as one missing from the van.

Explicit quotations preserved

• Bukata, according to BSO records: “cold-blooded killer without a conscience,”
• Boyd, during arrest questioning (narrative): “What took you so long to catch me?”
• Boyd, as quoted in narrative during the discussion at jail: “I would love to talk to you, and in the future I will sit down with the media and talk about all of this,”
• Boyd (narrative): “But at this time, it would not be wise for me to do so.”
• Boyd (narrative), repeatedly: “You will have to talk to my attorney.”
• Boyd (narrative): “Lucious, you know you need to be a preacher rather than being in the street.”
• Rev. Frank Lloyd, quoted to Detective Bukata (narrative): “Lucious, you know you need to be a preacher rather than being in the street.”
• Rev. Frank Lloyd to Detective Bukata, quoted (narrative): “I believe he's one that's runnin' from the ministry,”
• BSO deputy Dennis Additon, quoted in narrative: “Shut up and sit down!”
• BSO deputy Dennis Additon, quoted in narrative: “You mad because he didn't have any money?”
• BSO deputy Dennis Additon, quoted in narrative: “You expect me to believe that a small person like you overpowered this big man and took the knife away from him?”
• BSO deputy Dennis Additon, quoted in narrative: “If anybody goes to jail, it would be you because you don't have one mark on you. He's got all these cuts on him. I suggest you get to Women in Distress before we take you to jail.”
• Michelle Galloway (narrative), quoted in context of her statement: “This man just tried to rape me!”
• Boyd (narrative) in response to Rev. Frank Lloyd (as described): “Maybe you let me down,”
• Frank Lloyd (as described): “You know I wouldn't hurt you,”
• Michelle Galloway (narrative), quoted during the vehicle incident: “Shut up and don't say nothing,”
• Michelle Galloway (narrative), quoted during the vehicle incident: “Give me some head,”
• Boyd (narrative), quoted during the Sanders deposition account: “You don't know who you're messing with ”
• Boyd (narrative) quoted in context of Lloyd’s comment about missing tools and van use: “Lucious, you know you need to be a preacher rather than being in the street.”
• Sanders (narrative), quoted in deposition account: “And I was just looking up, like, 'What's going going?' And I started counting the seconds I wasn't breathing…. I just was like, 'I can't believe this is how I am going to die.'”
• Sanders (narrative), quoted in deposition account: “He would hold my throat and, like, watch me not breathe, ”
• Gaines confrontation (narrative), quoted by Shirley Gaines recalling her own question: “Where is my daughter?”

Closing status notes

Boyd remained sentenced to death following the Florida Supreme Court’s affirmance and the denial of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court.