Everett Miller, the man convicted of murdering Kissimmee police officers Matthew Baxter and Sergeant Sam Howard nearly five years ago, was sentenced to death by a Judge on Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors had previously recommended the death penalty, but Miller’s attorney had argued that his client, a former Marine, deserved life in prison.
On August 17, 2017, Officer Baxter made contact with a group of men known for drug activity. Sgt. Howard soon arrived as backup.
Police say Miller shot the two officers in the back of their heads, then flipped them over and posed them before shooting them in their faces, Fox35 reported.
After hearing from the medical examiner and emotional testimony from the responding officers who tried to save Baxter and Howard’s lives, it took jurors less than two hours of deliberations to find Miller guilty of first-degree murder.
Sadia Baxter, Matthew Baxter’s widow, is left to raise three young girls and a stepdaughter without their father.
She spoke to reporters shortly after the sentence came down.
“My girls still don’t have their daddy,” she said. “We forgive Everett Miller. Although what he did was not right, we forgive him. These girls deserve to live a happy life with no hate. Hate is what got us here.” Sadia Baxter added.
