Robert Ira Peede

Case information

Robert Ira Peede was prosecuted in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Florida, under Case# CR83-1682. The sentencing judge was The Honorable Michael F. Cycmanick. The trial attorney was Theotis Bronson, Assistant Public Defender. The direct appeal attorney was Larry B. Henderson, Assistant Public Defender. The collateral appeals attorney was Linda M. McDermott, Private.

Timeline

• 03/30/83 — Peede drove his motorcycle from Hillsboro, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida with the intent of getting his estranged wife, Darla Peede, to return to North Carolina with him.
• 03/31/83 — Date of offense.
• 05/25/83 — Indicted: Count I: First-Degree Murder.
• 05/31/83 — Defendant pled not guilty.
• 02/17/84 — Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
• 03/05/84 — Jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1.
• 03/05/84 — Sentenced: Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death.
• 04/05/84 — Peede filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 08/15/85 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Peede’s conviction and sentence.
• 09/04/85 — Rehearing was denied.
• 10/11/85 — The mandate was issued.
• 12/05/85 — Peede filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
• 06/23/86 — The Petition was denied.
• 05/06/88 — Governor Bob Martinez signed Peede’s death warrant.
• 06/06/88 — Peede filed a 3.850 motion to the Circuit Court.
• 06/24/88 — A stay of execution was granted by the Circuit Court.
• 06/21/96 — The motion was denied.
• 03/03/97 — Peede filed an appeal of the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 08/19/99 — The Florida Supreme Court remanded for an evidentiary hearing to be held on Peede’s Brady claim, the majority of his ineffective assistance of counsel claims, his mental competence claims, and his public records request.
• 08/12/04 — The motion was denied.
• 10/29/04 — Peede filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which is currently pending.
• 10/07/05 — Peede filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court, which is also pending.

Background

Robert Ira Peede was indicted in Florida and later sentenced to death.

The offence

Robert Ira Peede drove his motorcycle from Hillsboro, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida on 03/30/83 with the intent of getting his estranged wife, Darla Peede, to return to North Carolina with him. He planned to use Darla as a decoy to lure his former wife, Geraldine, and her current boyfriend, Calvin Wagner, to a motel where he was going to kill them.

Peede sold his motorcycle and flew to Miami, Florida.

At approximately 5:15 p.m., Peede called Darla and requested that she come pick him up at the airport. Darla agreed, and prior to her departure she left strict instructions with her daughter to call the police if she was not back by midnight and to give them the license plate number of her car. Darla also gave her daughter both Geraldine’s and the Hillsboro Police Department’s phone numbers. Darla feared that she would be forced to return to North Carolina and would be killed with the others. She purposefully only took her purse with her when she left her home.

According to Peede’s statements, Darla picked him up at the airport. He directed her to drive north on Interstate 95. The two mistakenly got on to the turnpike heading toward Orlando. During the trip, the song “Swinging” came on the radio. Due to Peede’s belief that Darla and Geraldine had placed an ad for sexual partners in the national magazine “Swinger,” Peede superficially cut Darla in the side with his knife.

On the way to Orlando, the two picked up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker drove the car while Peede and Darla had intercourse in the back seat. Darla remained in the back seat, and the hitchhiker was dropped off in Orlando.

Peede drove toward Daytona Beach on I-4. The two began discussing Peede’s idea about the advertisement in the magazine “Swingers.” About five or six miles outside of Orlando, Peede stopped the car on the shoulder of the road, jumped into the back seat, and stabbed Darla in the neck. This wound resulted in Darla bleeding to death within five to fifteen minutes.

Peede continued to drive to North Carolina. He discarded Darla’s body in a wooded area in Camden, Georgia. Peede threw his knife out of the car window at some point during the drive.

Peede still had intentions of carrying out the murders of Geraldine and Calvin Wagner. His shotgun was loaded and placed by the door when he was arrested.

Investigation and arrest

Peede was arrested at his home in Hillsboro, North Carolina. Darla’s car was parked outside of his residence. The car’s interior was heavily bloodstained.

Peede wrote out a confession stating that he killed Darla by stabbing her in the throat. Peede also asked for the death penalty and for this sentence to be carried out as soon as possible.

Trial

Charges

Peede was indicted on:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder

Plea and verdict

• On 05/31/83, Peede pled not guilty.
• On 02/17/84, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.

Sentence recommendation and sentencing

• On 03/05/84, the jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1.
• On 03/05/84, Peede was sentenced as follows: Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death.

Appeals

Direct appeal

Peede filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 04/05/84. The main issue Peede raised was that the trial judge erred in allowing Peede to excuse himself from attending his capital trial. The Florida Supreme Court ruled the record supported the trial court’s finding that Peede knowingly and voluntarily excused himself from the courtroom.

The Florida Supreme Court also stated that a defendant can waive the right to be present at stages of his capital trial if he personally chooses to voluntarily absent himself; therefore, no reversible error was committed by the trial court.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Peede’s conviction and sentence on 08/15/85. Rehearing was denied on 09/04/85, and the mandate was issued on 10/11/85.

United States Supreme Court

Peede filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 12/05/85. The Petition was denied on 06/23/86.

Post-conviction proceedings (3.850)

Governor Bob Martinez signed Peede’s death warrant on 05/06/88.

Peede filed a 3.850 motion to the Circuit Court on 06/06/88. A stay of execution was granted by the Circuit Court on 06/24/88, but the motion was denied on 06/21/96.

Peede filed an appeal of the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion to the Florida Supreme Court on 03/03/97. The main issue raised in this appeal was that the trial court and the State conceded for the need for an evidentiary hearing on certain claims and the trial court had scheduled a four-day evidentiary hearing, but the hearing never took place and the motion was denied.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court summary denial of many of the claims, but remanded the case to the circuit court on 08/19/99 for an evidentiary hearing to be held on Peede’s Brady claim, the majority of his ineffective assistance of counsel claims, his mental competence claims, and his public records request.

The motion was denied on 08/12/04.

On 10/29/04, Peede filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which is currently pending.

Habeas corpus

On 10/07/05, Peede filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court, which is also pending.

Outcome

Peede was sentenced to death on 03/05/84.

Other details

Peede’s date of birth was 06/30/44. The information included: Florida Supreme Court opinion 90002, opinion SC04-2094, and DC# 093094.