Ex-gang leader gets 3 life terms in killings
DeLAND — Saying he believed Luis Toledo showed no remorse for killing his wife and her two children four years ago in Deltona, a judge on Friday sentenced the former gang leader to three consecutive life sentences in prison.
Toledo, 36, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for killing his wife, Yessenia Suarez, 28, and two counts of first-degree murder for killing her children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Otto, 8.
Suarez and her two children were reported missing Oct. 23, 2013. Their bodies have not been found. Investigators have found only blood spots belonging to the girl.
Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano had no choice on the first-degree murder counts but a term of life without parole. A non-unanimous jury verdict spared Toledo a possible death sentence.
“Your version of what happened here was soundly and wisely rejected by the jury,” Zambrano told Toledo, who showed no emotion. “In your own mind, you convinced yourself that your wife deserved killing. That’s just plainly wrong. That someone else killed Michael and Thalia. You told the police as much: That was a lie that only you believed.
“You told the police that someone else disposed of the bodies. That too is a lie that only you believe. No one else does. No decent human being could stand idle and watch two children murdered without taking some action to protect them. It’s just humanity to protect children.”
Toledo faced up to life imprisonment for second-degree murder. He also faced up to five years in prison for tampering with evidence. Zambrano gave him the three consecutive life sentences plus five years on the evidencetampering charge to run consecutively as well. The judge gave Toledo 1,465 days’ credit for time served.
Toledo sat wearing the standard orange jail jumpsuit and showed no reaction in the courtroom at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand. Toledo occasionally leaned over to talk to one of his attorneys.
The jury voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence for Toledo.
However, a Florida law passed last year requires a unanimous recommendation for Zambrano to have the option of sending Toledo to death row.
But the judge noted that the jurors were unanimous on a telling point: Toledo showed no remorse.
“Not even the two people who voted to spare your life found any remorse in your actions or your statements,” Zambrano said. “I totally concur with their findings. I don’t believe you were remorseful, and as such you will receive no mercy from the court.”
The couple’s marriage had been on a downward slide. Then Toledo put a tracking device on Suarez’s phone and discovered she was having an affair; in a murderous rage, he later killed her and the children.
Zambrano expressed his condolences to the family members in the courtroom, saying that their biggest question remained unanswered: Where are the bodies of their loved ones?