On this date, May 29,
2013, a Pedophile from Florida, Elmer Leon Carroll, was executed by lethal
injection in that state. He was convicted of the October 28, 1990 of 10-year-old
Christian McGowan. I will post information about him from several internet sources.
Elmer Leon Carroll |
INTERNET SOURCE: http://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/carroll-elmer-leon.htm
Elmer Leon Carroll
DC #835908
DOB: 08/19/56
DOB: 08/19/56
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Case
#90-12464
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Trial Attorney: James E. Taylor, Esq. – Private
Attorneys, Direct Appeal: J. Wulchak & C. Quarles – Assistant Public Defenders
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Michael P. Reiter, Esq. – Registry
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Trial Attorney: James E. Taylor, Esq. – Private
Attorneys, Direct Appeal: J. Wulchak & C. Quarles – Assistant Public Defenders
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Michael P. Reiter, Esq. – Registry
Date of Offense: 10/30/90
Date of Sentence: 04/16/92
Circumstances of Offense:
Elmer Carroll was convicted and sentenced to death
for the murder of 10-year-old Christine McGowan on 10/30/90.
Robert Rank attempted to wake his stepdaughter,
Christine McGowan, on the morning of 10/30/90 and, when she did not answer his
calls, Rank went to McGowan’s room. He noticed her door, which was open
the night before, was closed. Upon entering the room, Rank discovered
McGowan face down on the bed.
She had blood between her legs and her body was
cold to the touch. Rank then noticed that the front door was slightly
open and his construction truck was missing. Police investigators at the
scene determined that McGowan had been raped and strangled to death, and issued
a bulletin regarding the stolen construction truck.
Upon hearing a radio bulletin regarding the stolen
construction truck, Debbie Hyatt notified police that she remembered seeing the
abandoned truck and a man, later identified as Elmer Carroll, walking easterly
away from the truck. As a result of Hyatt’s tip, Carroll was
arrested. When law enforcement officers searched Carroll for weapons,
they found a box cutter and the keys to the stolen construction truck.
Information presented at trial revealed that
Carroll was a resident of the halfway house located next door to the victim’s
home and that Carroll had remarked to other residents about the “cute” girl
next door. DNA evidence recovered from the scene matched Carroll’s
saliva, semen and pubic hair, and after his arrest, blood was found on
Carroll’s sweatshirt and penis.
Trial Summary:
10/30/90
Defendant arrested.
11/26/90
Defendant indicted on:
Count I:
First-Degree Murder
Count II:
Sexual Battery W/ Victim Under 12
04/13/92
The jury found the defendant guilty on both counts.
04/13/92
Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death
penalty.
04/16/92
The defendant was sentenced as followed:
Count I:
First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II:
Sexual Battery W/ Victim Under 12 –
Life
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC #79,829
636 So. 2d 1316
05/07/92
Appeal filed.
04/14/94
FSC affirmed the convictions and sentence of death.
06/09/94
Rehearing denied.
07/11/94
Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC #94-6014
513 U.S. 973
09/07/94
Petition filed.
10/31/94
Petition denied.
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC #90-12464
02/01/96
Motion filed.
10/20/98
Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC #94,611
815 So.2d 601
12/31/98
Appeal filed.
03/07/02
Decision affirmed.
04/19/02
Rehearing denied.
05/20/02
Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
FSC #SC00-46
815 So.2d 601
01/10/00
Petition filed.
03/07/02
Petition denied.
04/19/02
Rehearing denied.
05/20/02
Mandate issued.
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC #90-12464
04/22/03
Motion filed.
01/12/04
Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC #SC04-192
904 So. 2d 430
02/09/04
Appeal filed.
05/12/05
FSC affirmed the denial of the Motion.
United States District Court, Middle District – Petition for Writ of
Habeas Corpus
USDC# 05-857
06/08/05
Petition filed.
06/20/08
Petition denied.
United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Habeas Appeal
USDC# 08-14317
12/04/08
Appeal filed.
07/17/09
USCA affirmed the denial of the Petition.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 09-6134
130 S.Ct. 500
08/24/09
Petition filed.
11/02/09
Petition denied.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of the Sentence:
In December 1994,
Carroll was granted a time extension in filing a Motion to Vacate Judgment and
Sentence (3.850) until February 1, 1996. Statutorily, a defendant has one
year from the rehearing denial date in which to file a 3.850 Motion. With
his motion for rehearing denied on 06/09/94, the time lapse between filing was
approximately one year and seven months. Other than the filing extension,
there have been no unreasonable delays at this time.
Case Information:
Carroll filed a
Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 05/07/92. In that appeal,
Carroll alleged that the keys that linked him to Rank’s construction truck
should have been suppressed as evidence because they were found as a result of
an illegal arrest. Next, Carroll contended that testimony of one of the
deputies unfairly and prejudicially commented on his refusal to testify, and he
also argued several improper questions asked of a psychiatrist on
cross-examination by the prosecutor. In reference to the penalty phase of
the trial, Carroll argued the application of the heinous, atrocious, and cruel
(HAC) aggravating factor and that the trial court erred in failing to consider
certain statutory mitigating evidence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed
the convictions and sentence of death on 04/14/94.
Subsequently, Carroll
filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court,
which was denied on 10/31/94.
On 02/01/96, Carroll
filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit
Court. That motion was denied on 10/20/98, after which Carroll filed an
appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 12/31/98, which was denied on 03/07/02.
Carroll also filed a
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court on 01/10/00,
which was denied on 03/07/02.
On 4/22/03, Carroll
filed another 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court that was denied on
01/12/04. Carroll filed an appeal of that decision in the Florida Supreme
Court on 02/09/04. On 05/12/05, the FSC affirmed the denial of the
Motion.
Carroll filed a
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court, Middle
District, on 06/08/05 that was denied on 06/20/08.
On 12/04/08, Carroll
filed a Habeas Appeal with the United States Court of Appeals. The United
States Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts disposition and denied the
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
On 08/24/09, Carroll
filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court
that was denied on 11/02/09.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/carroll1333.htm
On
October 30, 1990, at about 6 a.m., Robert Rank went to awaken his ten-year-old
stepdaughter, Christine McGowan, at their home in Apopka. When she did not
respond to his calls, Robert went to her bedroom and found the door closed when
it had been open the night before. She was face-down, under the covers. After
shaking the bed, Robert removed the blankets and turned Christine over, then
realized she wasn't breathing and was cold to the touch. Shortly thereafter,
Robert noticed that his front door was slightly ajar and that his pickup truck
he had parked in the yard with the keys in it the night before was missing.
When the police arrived, they determined that Christine had been raped and
strangled.
Robert
Rank said he had locked the door after Christine's mother Julie had left for
work around 9:00 pm. He went to bed around 11:00 pm. A BOLO was issued for the
missing truck, which was a white construction truck bearing the logo ATC on the
side. Shortly thereafter, the truck was seen parked on the side of a highway
and 34-year-old Elmer Carroll was observed walking about one mile down the road
from the truck. Carroll, who had been released from prison just a few months
earlier, was subsequently stopped and searched, and the keys to the truck were
found on Carroll.
Two
witnesses had also observed Carroll driving the truck earlier that morning.
Blood was found on Carroll's sweatshirt and genitalia, and semen, saliva, and
pubic hair recovered from the victim were consistent with that of Carroll. The
keys to Robert's truck were found in Carroll's possession. Carroll had been
living in a travel trailer at the Lighthouse Mission since his release from
prison. Christine's house was adjacent to the mission. Carroll had remarked to
other residents of the mission about the "cute" girl next door.
The
jury convicted Carroll of both charges and recommended death for the
first-degree murder conviction by a vote of twelve to zero. The trial court
followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Carroll to death. In so doing,
the trial court found the following three aggravating factors: (1) Carroll was
previously convicted of two felonies involving the use or threat of violence to
the person; (2) the capital felony was committed while Carroll was engaged in
the commission of a sexual battery; and (3) the capital felony was especially
heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The trial court found no statutory mitigating
circumstances, but found as a non-statutory mitigating circumstance that
Carroll suffered from "some possible mental abnormalities and has an
antisocial personality." Christine's teachers, friends and family
described her as a helpful, big-hearted girl who was eager to please. She
picked up pine needles for a neighbor who sometimes gave her $1 or $2 for
spending money. At Lockhart Elementary School, teachers said Christine
invariably was the child who offered to help. ''Her face would just beam up.
'Can I wash the board for you today?' she would ask,'' said her third-grade
teacher. Christine had a love of writing stories, and several days before her
death, she wrote a poem for school liaison Deputy Gill McDaniel. She was crazy
about Ninetendo, even if her stepfather did have to give her a few pointers,
and she was a carefree soul on family outings. The week prior to her murder,
the family went to Busch Gardens. ''It wasn't enough for her to get wet on her
favorite ride, the Tidal Wave. She had to stand on a bridge and get nailed a
couple more times by the water,'' Robert Rank said.
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