MOUNT DORA, Fla. – The jury that convicted a woman of killing an elderly Mount Dora couple returns to court Thursday to begin the penalty phase of her trial.
Vickie Williams was convicted Tuesday of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of theft in the New Year’s Eve 2022 stabbing deaths of Darryl and Sharon Getman inside their Mount Dora senior living facility apartment.
Jurors spent roughly 30 minutes deliberating before returning a guilty verdict on all three counts.
Jurors must now recommend whether Williams should spend the rest of her life in prison or be sentenced to death.
During the trial, Williams’ attorneys argued she was suffering from psychosis at the time of the killings and did not understand what she was doing. Prosecutors argued Williams knew right from wrong and are seeking the death penalty.
Mount Dora police found the Getmans’ bodies inside their apartment in December 2022. Investigators said Williams visited the couple the night before their bodies were discovered, asking to use their shower and charge her cellphone. The next morning, the couple was found dead in their entryway and their car was missing.
Detectives tracked Sharon Getman’s cellphone — left inside the missing vehicle — using cellphone pings and license plate readers. That trail led to Savannah, Georgia, where Williams was arrested in January 2023.
The penalty phase begins at 8 a.m. Thursday.
