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Man changes his plea to guilty in 2 Florida murders in 2003

TAMPA, Fla. — A man who was charged and indicted for two murders in 2003 has decided to change his plea to guilty.

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Steven Lorenzo reportedly wrote a 16-page handwritten letter filed before Thanksgiving asking the court to change his plea from not guilty to guilty, according to WTSP.

Lorenzo also asked a judge in the letter to sentence him to the death penalty and waive his right to appeal, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

During a hearing Friday morning, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Sabella asked Lorenzo if he understood the consequences of his decision, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He said there are only two possible sentences for his plea: life in prison or the death penalty. Lorenzo said he understood and was fine with either one.

Lorenzo denied killing Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz for about a decade, according to WTSP. Prosecutors said that Lorenzo had drugged multiple men, making them unconscious. He did this so he could subdue, torture and sexually violate them.

This included Galehouse and Wachholtz, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Galehouse and Wachholtz went missing in December 2003. The investigation led officials to Scott Schweickert and Lorenzo. According to WTSP, Schweickert and Lorenzo were not immediately charged with murder. They were convicted federally for drugging them. However, in 2012, prosecutors said that Schweickert and Lorenzo had allegedly drugged, tortured and killed the men before placing their body parts in dumpsters.

He had planned to plead guilty before but wanted to fully review his case first, and then it wasn’t possible for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WTSP.

Lorenzo is expected back in court on Tuesday to fill out a form for his plea, according to WTSP. He is representing himself.

Lorenzo is already serving another sentence on drug charges from 2005, according to WTSP.