Linda Pedroza

Case overview

Linda Pedroza was a 17-year-old Palm Beach Gardens girl who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of her mother, Isabelle Pedroza, 50. The case involved the killing of Isabelle Pedroza by strangling and the later attempt to disguise the crime by mutilating her body with acid, followed by disposal of her remains in wooded area in The Acreage.

People

• Linda Pedroza (17 at the time of the killing; 19 at the plea hearing) — defendant; pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge; stood in a Palm Beach County courtroom and admitted details of her mother’s murder.
• Isabelle Pedroza (50) — victim; was killed at her home; her decomposed body was found on July 4 in The Acreage.
• Antoine Wright (23 at time of the killing; 25 later) — co-defendant in the murder case; pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; agreed to testify against Linda Pedroza in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence on a second-degree murder charge; provided statements to authorities detailing the killing.
• Miguel Pedroza — Linda Pedroza’s father; was in jail facing domestic violence charges when his wife was killed; was arrested May 29 on charges of domestic battery against Linda and was in custody at the time of his wife’s disappearance; told detectives he was an alcoholic and that he had smoked marijuana with his daughter and Wright, according to police reports.
• Jon Burstein — journalist who wrote about the sentencing and plea agreement.
• Nicole Sterghos Brochu — journalist who wrote about Wright’s letters and the plot to change stories and beat murder charges.
• Marian Dozier — journalist who wrote about neighbors describing Linda Pedroza before the charges.
• Nancy L. Othm-sn — journalist who wrote about charges filed in the case.
• Kellie Patrick — journalist who wrote about identification of the body by beads and dental records.
• Audrey Edmondson — neighbor who commented on Linda Pedroza’s behavior and the home life of Isabelle Pedroza.
• Allison Mulkey — neighbor who described observing Linda Pedroza hugging the boyfriend and the couple’s apparent behavior.
• Lauren Lanning (17) — Palm Beach Gardens friend who said Linda was angry with her mother because the mother would not let “Antoine and her be together.”
• Paul Miller — Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
• Shirley Deluna — Assistant State Attorney.
• John Hoy — Palm Beach County Circuit Judge.
• Ann Perry — Linda Pedroza’s attorney.
• Robert Gershman — Wright’s attorney.
• Detective R.J. Wolfort — Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detective who recognized beads and confirmed identity using dental records.
• Surveyors — discovered the decomposed body on July 4.
• The neighbors and friends quoted — provided statements about the relationship, behavior, and home life.

Timeline

• May 29, 2000 — Miguel Pedroza was arrested on charges of domestic battery against Linda Pedroza and was in custody at the time of Isabelle Pedroza’s disappearance.
• June 23, 2000 — Isabelle Pedroza came home from work; Antoine Wright hit her in the head with a frying pan.
• June 24, 2000 — Isabelle Pedroza told her daughter she was meeting with a client; later packed the car and stated she couldn’t take it and was going to Texas to stay with Linda’s stepbrother; investigators later found Isabelle Pedroza’s gold 1996 Kia parked at the airport on July 7.
• June 25, 2000 — Investigators said Wright surprised Isabelle Pedroza when she returned home from work; Wright hit her in the head with a frying pan so hard that the handle broke; the couple strangled her with an electrical cord; Linda reported her mother missing when she did not show up at home, work, or Texas by June 27.
• June 27, 2000 — Linda Pedroza reported her mother missing; she told police the mother had traveled to Texas.
• July 4, 2000 — Surveyors found the decomposed body of Isabelle Pedroza in The Acreage; the body had been mutilated and was badly decomposed.
• July 6, 2000 — Two days after Pedrosa’s body was found, detectives searched her home for “any instruments that could be used to cut wire or wire similar to that found under the victim’s neck.”
• July 7, 2000 — Investigators found Isabelle Pedroza’s gold 1996 Kia parked at the airport.
• July 9, 2000 — Dental records confirmed Isabelle Pedroza’s identity after matching jewelry with a photograph of a missing person report.
• September 12, 2000 — A report described statements Linda Pedroza made to detectives about love leading to the murder and trying to disguise it with acid.
• October 19, 2000 — A report described Wright’s jailhouse letters to Linda Pedroza about changing her story and beating murder charges.
• May 17, 2002 — Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Linda Pedroza; prosecutors sought the death penalty for Wright before the deal.
• December 20, 2002 — Linda Pedroza was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty.

The offence

Isabelle Pedroza returned home from work and Antoine Wright hit her in the head with a frying pan. Wright and Linda Pedroza then strangled Isabelle Pedrosa with an electrical extension cord/electrical cord. After strangling her, the couple attempted to destroy and disguise the remains by dumping Isabelle Pedroza’s body in an acid-filled bathtub and pouring acid over her body. When it did not dissolve like they thought it would, they dumped her mutilated corpse in the woods in The Acreage.

Neighbors and law enforcement accounts described the body as badly decomposed and that part of an electrical cord was found under Isabelle Pedrosa’s neck. Linda Pedroza was accused of standing by as Wright struck Isabelle Pedrosa and strangled her with an electrical cord. Investigators and authorities described the conduct as premeditated, including that the couple discussed getting rid of her for a while.

Investigators also tied their actions to disposing of evidence and trying to mislead police, including dropping Isabelle Pedroza’s 1996 Kia at the airport and telling police the mother had gotten angry about the relationship and was moving to Texas.

Investigation

Sheriff’s detectives suspected murder when they found Isabelle Pedroza’s decomposed body because part of an electrical cord was found under the victim’s neck. On July 6, detectives searched the home for instruments that could cut wire or wire similar to that found under the victim’s neck. Investigators seized three cutting tools from the home along with some of Isabelle Pedroza’s personal documents.

Detectives worked to identify the body using a necklace described in a missing person photograph. Detective R.J. Wolfort recognized beads on the body that matched beads in Isabelle Pedrosa’s missing person report, and dental records confirmed her identity. The autopsy results were pending when detectives spoke publicly about working it as a murder.

Investigators received many tips after Isabelle Pedroza’s body was found, including that a caller saw a black car or small truck near where the body was found and a white female running in that area. The detective said he did not know whether there was a tie between that vehicle and the one Linda Pedroza told them her mother rode off in on June 24, and he hoped to talk to that client and any others.

Investigators found Isabelle Pedroza’s gold 1996 Kia parked at the airport on July 7; the items she had packed were in the car, but the ticket for the long-term parking garage was missing. Detective Wolfort asked anyone with information about anyone seeing Isabelle Pedroza between her disappearance and death to call him.

Arrest and charges

Linda Pedroza reported her mother missing on June 27 and told police she thought her mother had traveled to Texas. On July 16, authorities charged Linda Pedroza and Antoine Wright with first-degree murder in the death of Isabelle Pedroza, 50, and also charged both with grand theft. Police said Linda Pedroza and Antoine Wright had attempted to destroy Isabelle Pedroza’s remains by placing her in a bathtub and pouring acid on her body, then wrapping her body in a tarp and dumping it in a wooded area in northwestern Palm Beach County.

Both Linda Pedroza and Wright were held without bond at the time of charges: Pedrosa at Palm Beach County’s juvenile detention center and Wright at the County Jail. Investigators said Linda Pedroza and Wright were being held without bail and on first-degree murder charges.

In addition to the murder charge, the prosecution described discussion and motives, including that Linda Pedroza was after some of her mother’s money and was angry that Isabelle Pedroza did not approve of her relationship with Wright.

Trial and proceedings

Linda Pedroza pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge. With Antoine Wright’s willingness to provide testimony that could help put her on death row, she pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder charge and agreed to a 40-year prison sentence. Assistant State Attorney Shirley Deluna and Circuit Judge John Hoy were involved in the plea proceedings.

At sentencing, Linda Pedroza calmly answered most of Judge John Hoy’s questions with one-word answers. She broke down in tears when Hoy asked her if she and Wright murdered her mother; after letting the question hang about 30 seconds, she quietly answered "yes." She offered no apologies.

Sentencing

Linda Pedroza was sentenced to 40 years in prison on December 20, 2002. A report said that with good behavior, the earliest she could be released is when she is 51 years old.

The deal included Antoine Wright’s testimony against Linda Pedroza. Wright had agreed to testify against Linda Pedroza in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence on a second-degree murder charge. If Wright testified truthfully at her trial and sentencing hearing, he would get the 20-year prison sentence; if he lied or refused to testify, the plea deal called for a life sentence. Prosecutors had previously sought the death penalty for Wright.

Assistant State Attorney Shirley Deluna said she had no qualms with Linda Pedroza receiving the longer prison sentence, and she described that Wright was offered a deal because the case against him was not as good as the one against Pedrosa.

Ann Perry, Linda Pedroza’s attorney, said she was disappointed Linda Pedroza would spend twice as long in prison as Wright. Perry said, "She is certainly remorseful for what happened and ever getting in contact with Antoine," and Deluna responded that prosecutors had no qualms with the longer sentence.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided text.

Outcome

The legal outcome for Linda Pedroza was that she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison on December 20, 2002 for second-degree murder.

Aftermath and related proceedings

Statements and letters

In a jailhouse letter to Linda Pedroza, Antoine Wright wrote about changing her story implicating him and adopting an alibi. Wright wrote that: "As long as you keep the same story you have now, I can't help you, and I'm not going to allow you to lay down," and: "If you change your story, believe it or not, we both can go home." Wright wrote: "I will kill myself to be there with you," and: "If I have to kill my whole family just to prove my love to you, I will do it."

The reporting also described that in her own letters, Pedrosa implored Wright to repent and find God, and that in an earlier letter to another friend she wrote: "Yesterday, I heard that Antoine might be getting out [of jail]. That's [messed] up," and: "I hope it ain't true because they letting the wrong person out. I hope you believe me, I SWEAR ON MY LIFE, I didn't do it! I'll go crazy if they let [him] go. Someone has to do justice." She also wrote about her "precious mother," saying she prays to her every night.

Wright’s statement largely echoed Linda Pedroza’s confession to authorities 11 days after surveyors found Isabelle Pedroza’s body on the Fourth of July.

Background about home life and family

Neighbors described Linda Pedroza as a friendly, hard-working teen who kept her front lawn “immaculate,” and said the allegations shocked the community. Audrey Edmondson said: "I watched her grow up and change," and that she became good friends with Isabelle Pedroza after moving into the duplex next door in the Palm Beach Gardens neighborhood on Brady Lane. Edmondson said: "She became this really wild teenager, which surprised me because it was my idea that she was a perfect kid." Edmondson also commented: "For the last two years, you never saw her smile," and: "She looked like a woman who had the world on her shoulders." Edmondson described the mother and daughter as arguing constantly, and that police were often called to the home.

Another neighbor, Allison Mulkey, said: "To me, they were acting like they didn't have a care in the world," and: "They had people over there, I'd see her hugging the guy out front. It's just too much." She described the couple’s behavior as living as if nothing happened, including going to Burger King, having parties, and driving Isabelle Pedroza’s 1996 Kia Sephia. Mulkey said they got tattoos, including "Pop," Wright’s nickname, tattooed on his arm and that Wright put "Linda" on his chest. Mulkey also said Wright even showed up with a new car with gold rims.

Lauren Lanning, a Palm Beach Gardens friend, said: "All last week they had parties, and everyone knew, everybody had heard what they did; they bragged about it," and: "She was the girl next door: ..."

The reporting described that Isabelle Pedroza pulled Linda Pedroza out of Duncan Middle School and enrolled her in a private school, sometimes took her to work, and tried to home-school her. Edmondson said: "[Isabelle] was too strict," and: "She literally tried to keep that kid prisoner, and I thought, One day, she's going to push that kid over the edge.' But I never dreamed it would come to this." Edmondson also said: "I told her, Isabelle, she's going to do what she wants to do.'"

Police and investigators also discussed that motive was possibly $8,000 taken from the trunk of Isabelle Pedroza’s car or the fact that the mother did not like Wright. A Sheriff's Office spokesman Paul Miller said: "This was premeditated," and: "They had discussed getting rid of her for a while." Miller also said: "When she came into the residence they were waiting for her," and that the boyfriend hit her with some type of frying pan and eventually choked her with an electrical cord. Miller said: "Even after she was killed, Miller said, the couple attempted to destroy Isabelle Pedrosa's remains."

Hearing and courtroom comments

At sentencing, Linda Pedroza answered "yes" to the question of whether she and Wright murdered her mother. Prosecutors described that they offered the deal to Wright because the case against him was not as good as the one against Pedrosa, and that Linda Pedroza had rejected a deal offered to her, with Deluna saying the offers had included testimony requirements at times.

Assistant State Attorney Shirley Deluna and Ann Perry each gave comments about remorse and sentence length. Ann Perry said: "She is certainly remorseful for what happened and ever getting in contact with Antoine." Perry said Linda Pedroza would spend twice as long in prison as Wright.

In discussing the relationship and the context of the plea, Perry was quoted: "[Isabelle] was her mother," and: "His mother is still alive. He indicated he wouldn't hurt a hair on [his mother's] head."