OCALA, Fla. – Opening statements were presented Wednesday in the resentencing hearing of a man convicted in the murder and dismemberment of a Marion County teenager.
Michael Bargo, 26, was sentenced to death in 2013 for the killing of 15-year-old Seath Jackson. The original jury reached the recommendation for death in a 10-2 vote, but a new sentencing hearing was ordered years later by the Florida Supreme Court.
In 2016, the state high court ruled juries must be unanimous in recommending the death penalty, which the court put in place in response to U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
In 2011, Bargo and four friends lured Jackson to a home in Summerfield, where Bargo shot the 15-year-old multiple times. The group then burned the body in a fire pit and disposed of the ashes by putting them in paint cans and dumping them in a quarry.
Bargo's four co-defendants were each convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison.
The state on Wednesday detailed the crime and Bargo's role in it. The prosecution called the crime cold, calculated and premeditated while asking the jury to recommend the death penalty.
The defense went through Bargo's history of family problems and mental illness. Bargo's attorney said those factors played a role in his decision-making, and she asked the jury to recommend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Both the state and defense said they have several witnesses they plan to call for the resentencing, which is expected to conclude next week.