Michael Robert Schnitzerling, who was found guilty in August of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting death of Bruce Salituri at the victim’s Fort Lauderdale home, should not be executed for his crime, a Broward jury decided Wednesday.
Schnitzerling, 34, of Delray Beach, will be sentenced to life in prison, the minimum mandatory penalty for first-degree murder in Florida.
For the defense, avoiding the death penalty was the best possible outcome after the same jury found that he killed Salituri, 59, at the victim’s Fort Lauderdale home. A clear motive was never established, but jurors found beyond a reasonable doubt that Schnitzerling posed as a utility worker for a company called Florida Drilling.
Once inside Salituri’s home, prosecutors said, Schnitzerling shot and killed Salituri and tried to kill his roommate, DeWayne Williams, who survived, escaped and testified about the ordeal.
The evidence in the case pointed so obviously to the defendant that his attorneys argued during trial that Schnitzerling was being framed.
The jury found Schnitzerling fit several criteria that would permit them to legally recommend death, but they fell short of the eight votes that would be required to recommend death.
After the decision was read in court Tuesday, Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein sentenced Schnitzerling to life in prison for murder and additional life terms for the attempted murder of Williams and for burglary.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.