Supreme Court of Florida

opinion SC04-332

opinion SC09-526

DC#   121605
DOB:  12/05/69

Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Sarasota County Case # 01-12500  
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Lee E. Haworth
Attorney, Trial: Adam Tebrugge – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Steven L. Bolotin – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Robert Strain & David Gemmer – CCRC-M

Date of Offense: 09/11/01

Date of Sentence: 01/23/04

Circumstances of Offense:

While in prison, John Troy became pen pals with Marilyn Brooks.  The two became romantically involved and planned to live together after Troy’s release from prison.  When Troy was released from prison, he and Brooks lived together at his mother’s apartment. 

After he was released in July of 2001, Troy checked in with his probation officer.  The officer informed him that he was required to be drug tested, and if he ever tested positive for drugs he would be sent back to prison. 

A drug test was scheduled for the evening of 09/11/01.  On that date, Troy tested positive for cocaine.  His drug counselor told him to expect to be re-incarcerated soon. 

Troy returned to his residence and Brooks began to argue with him, mainly about the amount of time it took him to get back from his test.  Around this time, Troy called his grandfather in Tennessee and asked for money to repair his car. 

Troy then left the apartment telling Brooks he was going to the local convenience store to get something to drink.  Brooks claims the trip should have taken no more then 20 minutes; however, he was gone for over an hour. 

When he returned, Brooks confronted him about where he was and called him a liar.  She angrily told him she was leaving, but Troy convinced her to stay.  Troy then said he was going to go for a walk around the apartment complex.  Brooks decided to just go to bed and told Troy to wake her up went he got back in.  Troy never returned.  

After Troy left Brooks for the last time, he went to a friend’s house to ingest cocaine – his third trip to his friend’s house that evening.   He discussed with his friend his plans to go back to Tennessee and live with his grandfather.  Troy left and returned to his friend’s house for a fourth time in the early hours of 09/12/01. 

Troy acted normal; however, he had some scratches on his face, money and a car, later determined to belong to Bonnie Carroll.   Troy and his friend went to a local drug dealer and bought more cocaine, which they injected later.

A little after midnight, Troy had gone to the apartment of his neighbor – Karen Curry.  He pounded on the sliding glass door of her apartment.  She was startled and told him to leave. He complied and Curry immediately called the police to report what happened.  

Bonnie Carroll was a neighbor of Troy’s, and they were slight acquaintances.  Troy told his mother that Carroll gave him a ride to the store, and they went back to her apartment.  Troy told his mother and Brooks that after he and Carroll got back to her apartment, they had drinks and smoked marijuana. 

According to Troy, Carroll began bad-mouthing Brooks and an argument ensued, which turned physical.  Troy then tied Carroll up and gagged her. 

According to a confession to police, Troy tied Carroll up with electrical cords while in Carroll’s living room.  The two began fighting, eventually ending up in the bedroom, where Carroll agreed to have sex with Troy. 

Carroll freed her hands and again began fighting with Troy, who gagged her and then began stabbing her with broken glass and a knife.  Troy thought Carroll was dead and left the room, only to hear movement in the bedroom. 

He then returned to the bedroom and cut her throat.  Troy’s DNA (including clothing and shoes covered in Carroll’s blood) and fingerprints at the scene confirmed Troy’s involvement in Carroll’s murder. 

The murder of Bonnie Carroll occurred after Troy’s encounter with Curry.  Carroll’s body was found by her mother on the evening of September 12^th.  Carroll died from 44 stab wounds, several blunt force injuries, bruising to her face and head, and multiple defensive wounds – 54 wounds in total. 

She also had a piece of cloth in the back of her mouth and a portion of cloth tied loosely around her neck.  Although no semen was found in or on Carroll, she had two very small areas of vascular dilation on her external genitalia, indicating attempted sexual battery. 

On 09/12/01, after Troy left Carroll’s apartment, he went to visit a friend of his mother, Traci Burchette.  He attacked her with a 2x4 board, took her ATM card, a jar of coins, and her car.  Burchette called police and was subsequently arrested and charged for the murder of Carroll and the attack on Burchette. 

Additional Information:

Troy was also incarcerated three separate times in Tennessee.  In Fayetteville, he spent 5 years in prison for selling cocaine in1988.  In 1992 he was incarcerated for burglary in Lincoln County and incarcerated for 3 years for aggravated assault in Hickman County in 1993.  Troy was still on parole status from Tennessee when he committed the offenses on 09/11/01 in Florida.

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Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
 

Prior Community Supervision History:
 

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Trial Summary:

Count I:           First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II:          Armed Burglary – Life
Count III:         Armed Robbery – Life
Count IV:         Attempted Sexual Battery – 30 Years  

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