Florida jury sends convicted killer in Waffle House murders back to death row

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A Florida jury on Thursday unanimously recommended to send convicted killer Gerhard Hojan, 43, back to death row for the 2002 Waffle House killings  

A Florida jury on Thursday unanimously recommended to send convicted killer Gerhard Hojan, 43, back to death row for the 2002 Waffle House killings  

A Florida jury has reached a unanimous decision to send a killer convicted of murdering two employees at a Waffle House and gravely wounding a third 16 years ago back to death row, after his previous sentence was overturned.

It took jurors in Broward County nine hours of deliberations to decide the fate of 43-year-old Gerhard Hojan.

Hojan was originally sentenced to death in 2003 after being convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, armed kidnapping and robbery in connection to the cold-blooded killings of Willie Absolu and Christina Delarsoa inside the freezer of the Waffle House near Interstate 75 in Davie in the early hours of March 11, 2002.

That first jury voted 9-3 in favor of capital punishment for Hojan, which at the time was enough to send him to death row, reported NBC6.

But in 2016, a new law was passed making it necessary for a jury to reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty, which prompted the Florida Supreme Court to overturn Hojan's sentence, reported Sun-Sentinel.

During Hojan's resentencing trial last month, the prosecution argued that the execution-style murders of 18-year-old cook Absolu and 17-year-old waitress Delarosa were especially heinous and cruel.

In March 2002, Hojan herded three employees into a freezer at this Waffle House in Davie, Florida, and shot them execution-style during an armed robbery  

In March 2002, Hojan herded three employees into a freezer at this Waffle House in Davie, Florida, and shot them execution-style during an armed robbery  

The victims’ co-worker Barbara Nunn, who was shot the head but survived, told the court how Delarosa and Mickel had all three of them kneel in the restaurant freezer and ordered them to put their hands on their heads.

State Attorney Mike Satz recounted for the jury how a terrified Delarosa asked Hojan and his accomplice, Jimmy Mickel, whether she would ever see her six-month-old son, Kyle again.

According to court documents, at 4am on March 11, 2002, Hojan and Mickel entered the Waffle House in Davie, where Mickel had at one time worked, and where both men were known to the staff from past interactions.

After eating breakfast, Mickel left, then returned with a pair of bolt cutters.

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Hojan then produced a gun, herded the three employees working the graveyard shift into a small freezer in the kitchen and locked them inside.

As Delarosa, Absolu and Nunn huddled together for warmth, Mickel went about cutting the locks on cash stores.

Hojan returned to the freezer three separate times: first, he demanded the victims give him their cellphones; then he returned and demanded their money; the third time, Hojan ordered the two teenage workers and Nunn to turn around and kneel on the floor.

Nunn tried to convince Hojan not to shoot them, but her pleas for mercy left him unmoved and he opened fire, hitting Absolu in the arm, neck and head, and shooting Delarosa in the spine and neck.

Hojan (pictured in court in 2005) was originally sentenced to death in 2003 by a jury that voted 9-3 in favor of capital punishment, but in 2016, a law passed requiring a jury to reach a unanimous decision in capital murder cases 

Hojan (pictured in court in 2005) was originally sentenced to death in 2003 by a jury that voted 9-3 in favor of capital punishment, but in 2016, a law passed requiring a jury to reach a unanimous decision in capital murder cases 

According to published reports, Delarosa died cowering under a freezer rack and screaming for her baby.  

Despite being shot in the back of the head from a point-blank range, Nunn regained consciousness after the suspects left, and was able to crawl out of the freezer and make her way to a gas station for help.

Hojan's accomplice, Jimmy Mickel (pictured), is serving five life sentences for his role in the attack 

Hojan's accomplice, Jimmy Mickel (pictured), is serving five life sentences for his role in the attack 

Before she was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, Nunn gave police a taped statement, identifying Mickel and Hojan as the perpetrators of the deadly armed robbery.

During his resentencing, Hojan's defense attorneys presented mitigating circumstances on behalf of their client, including that a history of parental abandonment and neglect, and evidence of child abuse and head trauma.

The jury, however, found that the aggravating factors that justified the death penalty outweighed the mitigating factors.

But it’s not the end of the road for Hojan: retiring Broward County Judge Paul Backman is allowed to set aside the jury's recommendation for the death penalty.

Hojan will get one more chance to plead for mercy during a hearing scheduled for December 10.

His accomplice, the 49-year-old Mickel, is serving five life sentences after being convicted of armed robbery and felony kidnapping charges, but acquitted of the murders.

 

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