SEBRING, Fla. – A Florida judge has officially sentenced Zephen Xaver to death for the brutal 2019 killings of five women at a SunTrust Bank in Sebring, Florida. The decision, handed down by Judge Angela Cowden, followed a 9-3 vote by jurors in June recommending the death penalty.
Xaver, now facing death row, had already pleaded guilty to the horrific murders of Ana Piñon Williams, Debra Cook, Marisol Lopez, Cynthia Watson, and Jessica Montague. For years, the victims’ families have waited for justice, and on Monday, they finally saw the verdict delivered.
Judge Cowden didn’t mince words as she explained her decision, stating that no aspect of Xaver’s troubled past or mental health could excuse the sheer cruelty of his actions that day. She described how Xaver appeared calm and calculated, even smirking as he checked his gun, while the victims were forced to lay face down on the floor, waiting in terror.
“The defendant is seen to have a smirk on his face as he checked over his gun, taking his time as they waited laying face down,” Judge Cowden said. “Each second of the terrifying ordeal was experienced by the victims and each one, after the shooting of the first victim, waited for her turn to be killed.”
For the families, the pain of their loss is something they carry every day. Michael Cook, whose wife Debra Cook was one of the victims, made his feelings clear in court. “I have absolutely no sympathy for him,” he said. “I think he deserves everything he gets and more. If they’d let me, I’d be the one to pull the switch.”
Kiara Lopez, the daughter of Marisol Lopez, spoke emotionally about how her mother’s death shattered her life. “I’ll celebrate the day you die, whenever that might be,” she said directly to Xaver in court. “You will always be a killer, a coward, a nobody, and a waste of human life.”
Kiara also shared how her grief has changed her forever. “I’ll never be able to find the pieces to put myself back together again, and I loathe you for it,” she said. Later, she reflected on the tragedy, pointing out how unsettling it was that Xaver was the same age as her.
“The day I found out he was my age, it really bothered me because he and I have lived through so many mass shootings that have happened at schools,” she said. “And to think, he still committed one.”
After the sentencing, State Attorney Brian Haas addressed the years-long wait for justice. “Six years is an incredibly long time, but in some respects, it seems like it was just yesterday that we were out at the scene, in shock and disbelief that something like this could happen in our community,” Haas said.
While Xaver’s legal team is expected to appeal the ruling, Monday’s decision marks a major step for the victims’ families. Xaver will now leave Highlands County Jail for the first time since the 2019 shootings and enter the Florida state prison system.
“It would be a miscarriage of justice if these family members had to wait decades for this sentence to be carried out,” Haas added.
For many of those affected, this moment brings a sense of closure after years of pain. “I truly believe that I can move on with my life now,” Kiara Lopez said.
Although the scars of that tragic day remain, the families can now see a glimmer of justice as Zephen Xaver faces the consequences of his actions.
