Randy Schoenwetter

Randy Lamar Ingram Schoenwetter (born October 27, 1981) is an American prisoner convicted of the August 12, 2000, murder of Ronald Friskey (aged 53) and his daughter Virginia (aged 11), and the attempted murder of Haesun Friskey. Apprehended shortly after the murders, Schoenwetter confessed and pleaded guilty to all charges. He was sentenced to death on December 5, 2003. At the time of his sentencing, he became the youngest person on death row. His death sentence was overturned in 2021 and he was resentenced to life. Theresa heard the commotion and called 911. Ronald managed to get outside and was seen by neighbors, who called 911 when they saw that he was injured; he later died from his wounds. Haesun was critically injured, but survived.

Following the murders, Schoenwetter rode home on his bike and took a shower. He then disposed of the clothes he was wearing and the knife used in the attack by placing them in a trash bag and throwing the bag in a dumpster. He was held at Brevard County Jail and denied bail.

Randy Schoenwetter was indicted on August 29, 2000, and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ronald and Virginia Friskey, the attempted first-degree murder of Haesun Friskey, and armed burglary. Schoenwetter wrote a letter to the judge confessing his guilt and changing his plea to guilty. The diagnosis was confirmed by a PET scan, which showed abnormalities in his brain associated with the disorder, but this defense was rejected on the grounds that the diagnosis failed to explain Schoenwetter's actions. He was sentenced to death for each of the murders, and life in prison for the attempted murder and burglary charges.

Appeals Schoenwetter filed an appeal claiming that his confession should have been suppressed because it was obtained illegally, and that the evidence obtained from his clothing should have been suppressed because it was found as a result of an unlawful interrogation. However, this appeal was denied because Schoenwetter voluntarily accompanied detectives to the police station and consented to provide a DNA sample. He also claimed that his attorneys were incompetent because they failed to prove that his mental disability was a mitigating factor, and that his death sentence was unconstitutional because of that disability. This appeal was rejected on the grounds that a mental illness does not make one ineligible for the death penalty.

Schoenwetter remained on death row until 2021, when he was resentenced to life following Hurst v. Florida.