Alvin Leroy Molton

Case information

Alvin Leroy Molton was convicted in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pasco County, in case number 92-308-CFAWS. He was born on 07/11/72. The sentencing judge was The Honorable Craig Villanti.

The trial attorneys were John E. Swisher and Gary Urso (Private Attorney). Direct appeal counsel was Steven L. Bolotin (Assistant Public Defender). Direct appeal (RS) counsel was Paul C. Helm (Assistant Public Defender). Collateral appeals counsel were Marie-Louise Parmer and Leslie Scalley (CCRC-M).

Timeline

• 01/26/92 — Date of offense.
• 03/18/94 — Date of sentence.
• 03/01/99 — Date of resententence.
• 02/04/92 — Indicted: Count I: First-Degree Murder; Count II: First-Degree Murder.
• 02/07/92 — Pled not guilty.
• 02/04/94 — Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
• 02/09/94 — Jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1.
• 03/18/94 — Sentenced: Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death; Count II: First-Degree Murder – Death.
• 02/18/99 — Order returning defendant for resentencing.
• 03/01/99 — Upon advisory sentencing, the jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1 and Molton was resentenced to death.
• 03/28/94 — Direct appeal filed to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 03/06/97 — Conviction affirmed; remanded to the Circuit Court for a new sentencing phase.
• 02/18/99 — Order for resentencing was dated.
• 03/25/99 — Direct appeal for resentencing filed to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 06/28/01 — Death sentences affirmed.
• 06/28/02 — 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court filed.
• 04/04/06 — Lower court denied all claims in Molton’s 3.850 Motion.
• 09/13/06 — Lower court issued an order granting the Motion for rehearing.

The offence

Sometime in the late evening of 01/26/92 or early morning of 01/27/92, Alvin Morton, Bobby Garner, and Tim Kane entered the home of the victims, John Bowers and his mother Madeline Weisser. Two individuals, Chris Walker and Mike Rodkey, went with the defendant but did not enter the residence.

Molton carried a shotgun while one of the other men carried a large serrated knife. The three men entered the living room looking for something to take. Bowers and Weisser entered the room from another part of the house.

Molton ordered Bowers and Weisser to get on the floor. At this point, Bowers agreed to give them whatever they wanted and pleaded for his life. Molton replied that Bowers would call the police. Bowers insisted that he would not call the police, but Molton replied, “That is what they all say,” and shot Bowers in the back of the neck, killing him.

Molton then attempted to shoot Weisser, but the gun jammed. Molton then tried to stab Weisser, but the knife would not penetrate the victim. Garner stepped on the knife and pushed it in.

Weisser was stabbed eight times in the back of the neck resulting in the severing of her spinal cord and her death. Before the three men left the home, either Garner or Molton cut off one of Bower’s pinky fingers, which they later showed to Jeff Madden, a friend.

Before the bodies were discovered, mattresses had been set on fire.

Investigation and discovery

The police and firefighters went to the victims’ residence on a tip. They found that mattresses had been set on fire and discovered the bodies.

The police found Molton hiding in the attic of his home. The police found the murder weapons underneath Garner’s mother’s trailer.

Molton eventually confessed to the shooting of Bower and aiding in the first cut on Weisser.

Arrest and custody

Molton was found hiding in the attic of his home.

Trial

On 02/04/92, Molton was indicted as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: First-Degree Murder

On 02/07/92, Molton pled not guilty.

On 02/04/94, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment. On 02/09/94, the jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1.

Sentencing

On 03/18/94, Molton was sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
• Count II: First-Degree Murder – Death

On 02/18/99, the court ordered Molton returned for resentencing. Upon advisory sentencing on 03/01/99, the jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1, and Molton was resentenced to death.

Appeals

Direct appeal filed 03/28/94

Molton filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 03/28/94. The Direct Appeal raised the issue of possible improper impeachment of witnesses by the State.

The Court ruled that the “cumulative effect of continual impeachment [of witnesses] made it all the more difficult for the jury to separate substantive evidence from the evidence it had been instructed to consider solely for impeachment.”

The error was ruled harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in regard to the guilt phase, but the Court was unable to confidently conclude that the jury’s recommended sentence of death was reliable.

On 03/06/97, the conviction was affirmed, but the case was remanded to the Circuit Court for a new sentencing phase.

Direct appeal for resentencing filed 03/25/99

Molton filed a Direct Appeal for resentencing to the Florida Supreme Court on 03/25/99. Four claims were presented on appeal.

The Court ruled only one claim to have error: the failure to consider Molton’s antisocial personality disorder as a mitigating factor. This error was found to be harmless, and the Court affirmed the death sentences on 06/28/01.

Collateral proceedings

On 06/28/02, Molton filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court. An amended Motion was filed.

On 04/04/06, the lower court denied all claims filed in Molton’s 3.850 Motion.

On 09/13/06, the lower court issued an order granting the Motion for rehearing.

Other details

The case record listed the victims as John Bowers and his mother Madeline Weisser. The record identified Bobby Garner and Tim Kane as co-defendants present during the entry into the victims’ home, and identified Chris Walker and Mike Rodkey as going with the defendant but not entering the residence.

The record identified Jeff Madden as a friend to whom one pinky finger of John Bowers was later shown.