Richard Wallace Rhodes

Case information

Richard Wallace Rhodes (date of birth: 10/03/53) was tried in the Six Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, Florida, Case #84-3982.

Sentencing and counsel

• Trial sentencing judge: The Honorable Helen S. Hansel
• Resentencing judge: The Honorable W. Douglas Baird
• Attorney (trial): David J. Kurland – Special Public Defender
• Attorney (direct appeal): Robert F. Moeller – Assistant Public Defender
• Attorney (collateral appeals): Terry L. Backus – Registry

Timeline

• 02/29/84 — Date of offense
• 03/02/84 — Florida Highway Patrol stopped Richard Rhodes and arrested him for driving without a valid license
• 03/15/84 — The Sunset Hotel in Clearwater was demolished
• 03/24/84 — The body of Karen Nieradka was found in debris that had been transported to St. Petersburg from the demolition site of the Sunset Hotel in Clearwater
• 03/26/84 — Police interviewed Rhodes
• 03/06/84 — Several weeks prior to March 24, 1984, Rhodes was stopped and arrested (as described)
• 04/27/84 — Rhodes tried to make a deal with detectives saying that he would explain how Nieradka died if he would be sent to a mental health facility
• 04/27/84 — Rhodes was arrested (as listed in trial summary)
• 07/06/89 — FSC remanded the case to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing
• 07/20/84 — Rhodes was indicted on Count I: First-Degree Murder (Karen Nieradka)
• 08/16/85 — Rhodes was found guilty on Count I
• 08/27/85 — Advisory sentencing: jury voted for the death penalty by a 7 to 5 majority
• 09/12/85 — Rhodes was sentenced on Count I to death
• 03/17/92 — Advisory sentencing: jury voted for the death penalty by a 10 to 2 majority
• 03/20/92 — Rhodes was resentenced to death on Count I
• 04/03/92 — Rhodes filed a direct appeal (re-sentencing) in the Florida Supreme Court
• 04/11/96 — Rhodes filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court
• 11/13/97 — Florida Supreme Court denied Rhodes’s petition for writ of habeas corpus
• 10/07/94 — Rhodes filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court
• 12/05/94 — United States Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari
• 08/10/94 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed the sentence of death and vacated a duplicate conviction for First-Degree Murder
• 12/19/01 — Rhodes filed a 3.853 (DNA) Motion in the Circuit Court
• 01/08/04 — Rhodes filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court (pending)
• 05/17/06 — The 3.853 (DNA) motion was denied
• 11/12/03 — The Circuit Court denied the 3.850 motion
• 01/08/99 — Rhodes filed an Amended 3.850 Motion

The offence

Richard Rhodes was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Karen Nieradka.

On March 24, 1984, the body of Karen Nieradka was found in debris that had been transported to St. The hotel had been demolished on March 15, 1984. Nieradka was found to have died from manual strangulation.

Investigation and police interviews

Several weeks prior to the body being found, on March 2, 1984, Richard Rhodes was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol and arrested for driving without a valid license.

At the time of the arrest, Rhodes was driving a car registered to the victim, Nieradka. The police interviewed Rhodes on March 26, 1984. Rhodes gave different stories but continued to deny involvement in Nieradka’s death.

On April 27, 1984, Rhodes tried to make a deal with detectives, saying he would explain how Nieradka died if he would be sent to a mental health facility. Rhodes stated that Nieradka’s death was due to an accidental fall from the third story of the Sunset Hotel.

During the course of the trial, three inmates from the Pinellas County Jail testified that Rhodes had confessed to murdering Nieradka.

Arrest and indictment

• 04/27/84 — Rhodes was arrested (as listed in the trial summary).
• 07/20/84 — Rhodes was indicted on:
  • Count I: First-Degree Murder (Karen Nieradka)

Trial

Guilt phase

Advisory sentencing (first sentencing)

• 08/27/85 — Upon advisory sentencing, the jury voted for the death penalty by a 7 to 5 majority.
• 09/12/85 — The jury’s advisory sentencing resulted in a death sentence:
  • Count I: First-Degree Murder (Karen Nieradka) – Death

Remand and resentencing

Florida Supreme Court remanded to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing on 07/06/89.

• 03/17/92 — Upon advisory sentencing, the jury voted for the death penalty by a 10 to 2 majority.
• 03/20/92 — Rhodes was resentenced as follows:

Rhodes was described as having been erroneously adjudicated guilty by the judge due to the Florida Supreme Court’s previous affirmation of his original conviction, and the duplicate conviction was later vacated by the Florida Supreme Court.

Appeals

Direct appeal (original conviction and sentencing)

On 10/29/85, Rhodes filed a direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court and raised several issues relating to the guilt phase and penalty phase.

In the guilt phase, one issue was that remarks made by the prosecutor were prejudicial. The Florida Supreme Court determined the remarks to be harmless.

Another issue raised was that the court should not have given instructions on flight because there was not evidence that Rhodes was attempting to avoid prosecution.

In the penalty phase, Rhodes raised several issues. One issue was that the court allowed testimony about a crime Rhodes committed in Nevada, and an audiotape of the victim, in the Nevada case, was played for the jury. The Florida Supreme Court found error because Rhodes was not allowed the opportunity for rebuttal and found the tape to be irrelevant and prejudicial.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but remanded the case to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing on 07/06/89.

Direct appeal (re-sentencing)

On 04/03/92, Rhodes filed a direct appeal (re-sentencing) in the Florida Supreme Court.

He raised several issues:

• the trial court erred in dismissing potential jurors who said they would have difficulty in imposing capital punishment
• hearsay was allowed
• the state was allowed to present irrelevant evidence
• the jury instructions misinformed the jury about its role
• the penalty of death was not proportional in this case
• one of the two convictions for First-Degree Murder should be vacated

On 08/10/94, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the sentence of death but vacated the duplicate conviction for First-Degree Murder (03/20/92).

Petition for writ of certiorari

On 10/07/94, Rhodes filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court denied the petition on 12/05/94.

Post-conviction motions and habeas corpus

• 11/12/03 — The Circuit Court denied the motion.
• 05/19/97 — Rhodes filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 11/13/97 — The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition.
• 05/17/06 — The motion was denied.
• 01/08/04 — Rhodes filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court; the appeal was pending.

Outcome

Rhodes’s sentence of death was affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court on 08/10/94, and a duplicate conviction for First-Degree Murder was vacated. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on 12/05/94.

Other details

Florida Supreme Court opinion numbers were referenced as 67842 and 79627, and SC04-31 and DC# 099269 were referenced. The case also referenced “Richard Wallace Rhodes home last updates contact” and “Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us” as scraped fragments.