CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – A Charlotte County jury has recommended the death penalty for Dwight T. Eaglin for the murders of Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem and inmate Charlie Fuston, returning its verdict just before 7 p.m. after more than two weeks of testimony in a penalty phase retrial.
The jury voted 11-1 to recommend death for the murder of Lathrem and unanimously recommended death, 12-0, for the murder of Fuston. The case stems from a 2003 escape attempt at the Charlotte Correctional Institution in which prosecutors said both victims were beaten to death with hammers.
Eaglin was originally sentenced to death in 2006 for the murders. His sentence was later challenged following changes to Florida’s death penalty law, and he was granted a new penalty phase trial.
According to trial testimony, Lathrem was supervising a prison work crew at night when she was lured away and killed. Fuston, an inmate, was also murdered during the escape attempt.
Janet Best, Lathrem’s sister, said the family welcomed the jury’s decision. “Our family is grateful that jurors made the appropriate recommendation,” Best said. “And we look forward to the judge imposing that recommendation, so that justice will finally be served. We miss Darla very much.”
The prosecution team included Cold Case Homicide Unit Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg, Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Shannon Doolity, and Assistant State Attorney Kristan Burns.
State Attorney Amira Fox said the verdict reflects the severity of the crimes. “We will never let up when it comes to seeking justice, not after a day, a year, or decades,” Fox said. “This was a heinous crime and clearly a death penalty case.”
A Spencer hearing is scheduled for March 20 at 9:15 a.m., with formal sentencing set for March 27 at 9:15 a.m.
At the time of the 2003 murders, Eaglin was already serving a life sentence for a 1998 killing in Pinellas County, where prosecutors said he cut a man’s throat and stabbed him to death outside a nightclub.
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