Date of Sentence: 11/14/84
Circumstances of Offense:
At approximately midnight on
09/29/83, Gregory Alan Kokal and William O’Kelly picked up a hitchhiker,
victim Jeffrey Russell. They then drove to a Jacksonville Beach park.
When they exited the car, Russell was attacked and beaten with Kokal’s
pool cue before he was robbed. Russell was forced to walk approximately
100 feet where he pled for his life as he was beaten unconscious with
the pool cue.
Russell was then fatally shot with a .357 revolver. The
body was discovered the following day, and the police initially reported
that the victim had been beaten to death.
During the autopsy, it was
determined that the gunshot killed the victim. The fact the gunshot was
the cause of death was restricted to the investigating officers.
Kokal was apprehended the
following morning by police after he fled a gas station without paying
in O’Kelly’s truck.
When the police officer asked Kokal for
identification, he produced O’Kelly’s Colorado license, the victim’s New
York license, and an Arizona vehicle registration in O’Kelly’s name, in
addition to his own Florida license.
The officer arrested Kokal for the
gasoline theft and the truck was seized and inventoried. When the truck
was inventoried, the murder weapon and a box of shells were found
bearing Kokal’s fingerprints. Kokal was released, however, because the
officer was not aware of his involvement in the murder.
Later that same
day, Kokal told a friend about the robbery and murder, including details
only known to the police, such as the fatal gunshot. Kokal was arrested
after a warrant was issued for his capture.
Codefendant
Information:
William O’Kelly pled guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree
murder in exchange for trial testimony against Kokal.
Trial Summary:
10/20/83
Defendant indicted with the following:
Count I:
First-Degree Murder
10/04/84
Defendant found guilty of First-Degree Murder
10/12/84
Jury recommended Death by a vote of 12-0
11/14/84
Defendant was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder – Death
Case Information:
A
Direct Appeal was filed to the Florida Supreme Court on 12/21/84. Issues
that were raised on appeal included whether the trial court erred in
applying the heinous, atrocious, and cruel aggravator, and whether the
trial court erred in not suppressing the murder weapon seized during the
vehicle inventory following appellant’s arrest for stealing gas.
The
Court found all of the claims either harmless or without merit and
affirmed the conviction and sentence of death on 07/17/86. A death
warrant was signed by Governor Bob Martinez on 08/25/88.
A
3.850 Motion was filed to the Circuit Court on 09/26/88. A stay was
granted by the Circuit Court on 10/12/88. The motion was denied on
04/14/97.
A
3.850 Appeal was filed to the Florida Supreme Court on 05/23/97. Issues
that were raised on appeal included whether trial counsel was
ineffective and whether the trial court failed to adequately weigh the
aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The Court found all of the
claims either without merit or procedurally barred and denied the
petition on 07/16/98.
A
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed to the Florida Supreme
Court on 09/26/88. Issues that were raised on appeal included whether
trial counsel was ineffective and whether the trial court erred by
refusing to excuse for cause two jurors who were biased in favor of the
death penalty. The Court found all of the claims either harmless or
without merit and denied the petition on 07/16/98.
A
3.850 Motion was filed to the Circuit Court on 08/17/99. The motion was
denied on 02/12/01.
A
3.850 Appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/25/01. The
Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion on
01/13/05. The Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of Kokal’s motion
to disqualify Judge Carithers. Finally, the Court rejected as
procedurally barred Kokal’s due process claim based upon the State’s
alleged failure to preserve evidence.
On 04/28/05, the rehearing was
denied. The mandate was issued on 05/19/05.On
02/22/05, Kokal filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the United
States District Court, Middle District. The petition was amended on
03/10/05 and is currently pending.
On
07/26/05, Kokal filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United
States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/31/05.
FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us
