Florida Man Sentenced in Chilly Case Homicide of Sufferer Overwhelmed to Loss of life with Baseball Bat in Home Beneath Building – Regulation & Crime

A 55-year-old man in Florida whose face is almost lined in tattoos will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for beating one other man to loss of life with a baseball bat greater than 20 years in the past. A state decide on Friday ordered Randy Petersilge to serve a sentence of life in jail with out the potential of parole for the 2001 slaying of Simon Clarke, authorities announced on Wednesday.

In response to a press launch from the New Port Rickey Police Division, officers on Nov. 28, 2001 responded to a 911 name a few loss of life at a house positioned within the 4700 block of Sanctuary Drive. Upon arriving on the scene, investigators found the lifeless physique of an grownup male inside the room of an condominium advanced that was underneath building. The sufferer was later recognized as Clarke.

An post-mortem carried out by the medical expert’s workplace decided that Clarke’s loss of life was a murder and that the way of loss of life was “a number of blunt power trauma” accidents to the face and chest.

“Detectives on the time carried out a number of interviews with potential witnesses and recognized an individual of curiosity,” police mentioned within the press launch. “The homicide weapon was positioned; nevertheless, the processing of the item didn’t reveal any leads. No arrests have been made, and the case went ‘chilly’ in 2004.”

In response to a court documents obtained by Regulation&Crime, investigators shortly pegged Petersilge as a “particular person of curiosity” in Clarke’s loss of life however did not acquire adequate proof for an arrest.

Petersilge in 2015 was convicted on the cost of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was ordered to serve 42 months in a federal jail. Whereas he was incarcerated, New Port Richey Police Detectives in Might 2016 reopened the case into Clarke’s loss of life.

Investigators reinterviewed a number of witnesses who they are saying supplied further particulars on their recollection of occasions surrounding the killing. Police mentioned an extra witness who was current throughout the murder was additionally recognized.

Court docket paperwork state {that a} man named Jason Azevedo approached investigators and mentioned that he “was current when Randy Petersilge struck Simon Clarke with a bat, inflicting his loss of life.” Azevedo additional advised the investigator that he would take part within the prosecution of Petersilge as a result of he had “been dwelling with the reminiscences of the incident since its incidence,” paperwork state.

Azevedo claimed he was initially afraid to return ahead as a result of Petersilge compelled additionally him to hit Clarke with the bat.

One other witness, Denise Sanders, allegedly corroborated Azevedo’s story. Sanders allegedly mentioned that she spoke with Petersilge after the homicide and mentioned that he confessed to committing homicide. She additional claimed that Azevedo “wouldn’t be capable of testify in opposition to Randy Petersilge as a result of he made Jason Azevedo strike the sufferer with a bat as effectively,” in accordance with courtroom paperwork.

Sanders was the overall contractor employed to carry out building on the house of Clarke’s buddy and enterprise companion in 2001 and Petersilge’s boyfriend. After a number of months, an engineer knowledgeable Clarke’s buddy that Sanders had charged him greater than $300,000 for roughly $120,000 of labor. Clarke’s buddy was in England on the time and requested Clarke to tell Sanders that she wouldn’t be receiving any further funds.

When Sanders knowledgeable Petersilge that no more cash was going to be paid, he allegedly “went into the residence with Azevedo carrying a baseball bat and beat Simon Clarke to loss of life,” paperwork state.

Investigators say they found that Sanders was defrauding Clarke’s buddy and utilizing the cash to buy narcotics, noting that each Petersilge and Azevedo had a historical past of drug-related offenses. NPRPD detectives mentioned that Clarke’s buddy’s “refusal to pay further monies was Petersilge’s motive within the murder.”

Armed with the testimony of the brand new witness, the case was dropped at the Pasco County State Legal professional’s Workplace. Prosecutors in 2018 offered the case to a grand jury which subsequently returned an indictment in opposition to Petersilge on the cost of first-degree homicide.

Petersilge pleaded not responsible. The case went to trial earlier this month and the jury convicted him of murdering Clarke.

[image via New Port Richey Police Department]

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