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Steven LORENZO
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Serial rapist of gay men
- Torture
Number of victims: 2
Date of murders: December 19-20, 2003
Date
of arrest:November 2,
2004
Date of birth: 1959
Victims profile: Jason
Galehouse, 26, and Michael Wachholtz, 26 (gay men)
Method of murder:???
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA
Status:
Sentenced to 200
years in prison on January 28, 2006
A serial
rapist of gay men was sentenced in federal court Friday to the maximum
200 years in a Florida prison and is expected to face murder charges for
killing two of his victims.
Steven Lorenzo, 46, was found guilty in November of
slipping the "date-rape drug" GHB into the drinks of nine gay men, then
raping and sexually torturing them at his home.
Seven of Lorenzo's victims testified that they met
Lorenzo in Tampa gay bars and went home with him. According to their
testimony, when they woke up they were naked, bound and in pain.
Lorenzo's attorney argued that the sex acts were consensual.
Two of the nine victims named in the rape case were
murdered, and prosecutors say they plan to try Lorenzo and an
accomplice, Scott Schweickert of Chicago, in the killings. Lorenzo
allegedly met Schweickert online and agreed to fulfill a fantasy of
torturing and killing men.
In May, Schweickert told federal agents that he and
Lorenzo dismembered the body of Jason Galehouse, 26, put the pieces in
garbage bags and scattered them in trash bags throughout Tampa on Dec.
19, 2003. The next night, Lorenzo and Schweickert allegedly drugged,
raped and killed Michael Wachholtz, 26, wrapping him in a bed sheet and
leaving him in his Jeep.
Schweickert's voluntary confession led police to a cache
of nearly half a million images on Lorenzo's computer, including
photographs of Wachholtz's dead body taken at Lorenzo's house.
Galehouse's DNA was found in a pool of blood under the floor of
Lorenzo's garage.
Schweickert faces a federal trial on similar drug charges
within two weeks. State and local authorities believe it is likely that
both men will face murder charges in state court as well.
Brian Winfield, spokesman for Equality Florida, said he
was pleased with the results of the federal trial, but wants to ensure
that murder charges go forward.
Winfield told the PlanetOut Network that police
homophobia, contrary to earlier fears, has so far not hindered the
investigation or the prosecution.
"We used town-hall meetings and press releases and other
means to help victims who might be intimidated (by possibly homophobic
officers) to come forward," he said. "Now the gay community's
relationship with Tampa police has grown stronger, and we have a mostly
open communication with the state attorney."
Investigators are also looking into the connection
between Lorenzo and the disappearance of at least six other gay men in
Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
"Everyone involved in the case believes there are other
victims of Lorenzo," Winfield said. "These nine were just
the strongest cases."
Lorenzo allegedly met Schweickert online and agreed to
fulfill a fantasy of torturing and killing men.
In May, Schweickert told federal agents that he and
Lorenzo dismembered the body of Jason Galehouse, 26, put the pieces in
garbage bags and scattered them in trash bags throughout Tampa on Dec.
19, 2003. The next night, Lorenzo and Schweickert allegedly drugged,
raped and killed Michael Wachholtz, 26, wrapping him in a bed sheet and
leaving him in his Jeep.
Schweickert's voluntary confession led police to a cache
of nearly half a million images on Lorenzo's computer, including
photographs of Wachholtz's dead body taken at Lorenzo's house.
Galehouse's DNA was found in a pool of blood under the floor of
Lorenzo's garage.
Schweickert faces a federal trial on similar drug charges
within two weeks. State and local authorities believe it is likely that
both men will face murder charges in state court as well.
Brian Winfield, spokesman for Equality Florida, said he
was pleased with the results of the federal trial, but wants to ensure
that murder charges go forward.
Winfield told the PlanetOut Network that police
homophobia, contrary to earlier fears, has so far not hindered the
investigation or the prosecution.
"We used town-hall meetings and press releases and other
means to help victims who might be intimidated (by possibly homophobic
officers) to come forward," he said. "Now the gay community's
relationship with Tampa police has grown stronger, and we have a mostly
open communication with the state attorney."
Investigators are also looking into the connection
between Lorenzo and the disappearance of at least six other gay men in
Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
Lorenzo guilty on all 10 counts
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Steven Lorenzo was found guilty Thursday on all 10 counts of drugging,
raping and torturing nine men.
Prosecutors also said Lorezno, along with Scott Schweikert, murdered
Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz in December 2003. But he has not
been charged with their murders.
Schweikert will face a federal trial later.
Wachholtz's mother, Ruth Wachholtz, was in court as the verdict was
read. Lorenzo's family, his father and two siblings, were also in the
audience. One of them started to cry as the guilty verdicts were read.
However, Lorenzo stayed calm, smiling and making kissing motions and
patting his attorney on the back.
Lorenzo's attorney, Donald Harrison, said he will appeal.
Sentencing will not be until January, but Lorenzo could receive up to 20
years in prison for each count.
Lorenzo has not been charged with murder in any of the nine cases. That
can only happen in state court, and state prosecutors said they are
still building their case against him.
Deliberations, which started Wednesday, only took about three-and-a-half
hours.
Man Sentenced To
200 Years For Drugging, Raping Men
WKMG-TV NEWS
January 27,2006
TAMPA, Fla. -- A
Tampa man convicted in federal court of drugging and raping nine young
men was sentenced to the maximum 200 years in prison Friday.
Two of the victims of Steven
Lorenzo ended up dead, and he is likely to face murder charges in state
court later.
"I hope that he never sees the
light of day again," said U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara after
the sentencing.
A jury in November found Lorenzo,
46, guilty of slipping the date rape drug, GHB, into the drinks of all
nine victims and then sexually torturing them at his home.
Michael Wachholtz and Jason
Galehouse, both 26, were killed. The other seven victims all testified
about meeting Lorenzo at bars and either losing track of their drinks or
having Lorenzo serve them drinks before they lost consciousness.
The men woke up naked and in pain,
some remembering bondage or forced sex, and others having almost no
memory of what happened.
Lorenzo's attorney argued that the
sex acts were consensual.
Prosecutors said Lorenzo teamed up
with Scott Schweickert, a Chicago man he met online, to fulfill their
ultimate fantasy by killing Wachholtz and Galehouse.
Galehouse was killed and
dismembered by Schweickert and Lorenzo on Dec. 19, 2003, after the three
engaged in sex, an indictment said. Schweickert told federal agents he
and Lorenzo cut up the body, put the pieces in garbage bags and
scattered them in trash bins throughout the city.
The next night, Lorenzo and
Schweickert allegedly drugged, raped and killed Wachholtz, wrapping him
a bed sheet and leaving him in his Jeep, according to the indictment.
The vehicle was discovered Jan. 6, 2004.
Investigators found on Lorenzo's
computer hundreds of thousands of images, including photographs of
Wachholtz's dead body taken at Lorenzo's house hours after he was last
seen.
Galehouse's DNA was found in a
large pool of blood in the dirt beneath the cobblestone floor of
Lorenzo's garage.
Schweickert will face a
federal trial later.
Investigators
mingle outside the Seminole Heights home of Steven Lorenzo
on W.
Powhatan Avenue in Tampa during the investigation in 2005.
(Kathy Moore/Tribune)
