Updated: January 26, 2012 – 6:04 PM
Manessa Donovan was eight weeks pregnant when she was shot. Her fetus died during emergency surgery.
The defense tried for two days to paint Kalisz as a good-natured, selfless man who snapped under the weight of stress, desperation and emotional turmoil.
“He was always there when I needed him – any time with anything,” said a weeping Melissa Williams, a friend of Kalisz’s who testified Thursday morning via video feed.
She credited him with hiring her when she needed to earn money, comforting her when she needed a shoulder to cry on and counseling her as she toiled through a crumbling marriage.
Kalisz’s life since the early 1990s centered on Alcoholics Anonymous. He grew up in a household where abusive drinking was the norm, said defense attorney Devon Sharkey.
It wasn’t long before he was consumed by his own addictions. He spent much of his life homeless and estranged from his family.
He found sobriety and salvation through AA and he was committed to it, his friends and relatives said. He sponsored recovering alcoholics and guided them through the 12-step program.
“AA held him together pretty well for 20 years,” said Peter Bursten, a mental health expert hired by the defense. “He was viewed by others as a good person.”
Bursten said Kalisz’s life in AA boosted his self-esteem. It made him proud he could help people – even turn around their lives. He gleaned “almost a child-like” joy out of it.
“For many years, he didn’t feel what it was like to be a decent human being,” Bursten said, referring to Kalisz’s dark days of living under bridges and spending endless nights in jail for committing petty crimes.
In October 2009, Kalisz pleaded guilty in Hernando County Circuit Court to charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was accused of exposing himself to Manessa Donovan while she was a juvenile and leaving a CD containing provocative photos under her mattress.
He also was accused of threatening Donovan’s boyfriend at the time with a knife. The confrontation was witnessed by family members.
Following his 2009 conviction, Kalisz was sentenced to probation and was required to register as a sex offender. It kept him away from Colorado, where he had hoped to return so he could resume his roofing career and be with those closest to him.
Two days before the fatal shootings in Brooksville and Cross City, Kalisz’s trailer in Spring Hill went up in flames following a propane explosion. What little he owned was lost.
“Not only did he lose his home in Colorado, he lost his home in Florida,” Bursten said. “He had lost his support system in Florida. At that point, he described to me he had nothing left … He was exceptionally (and) emotionally distraught.”
More than an hour after the Wilhelm Road shootings, Kalisz drove north through several counties along U.S. 19. He pulled into a gas station in Cross City, at which time several Dixie County Sheriff’s deputies surrounded him. Kalisz opened fire.
Capt. Chad Reed was shot and killed. Kalisz also was shot, but survived his injuries.
Last year, Kalisz pleaded guilty to murdering Reed and received a life sentence.
Jurors heard for the first time Wednesday evidence related to Reed’s death.
Magrino reminded jurors during his closing argument Thursday that Reed was gunned down in the line of duty.
He also reminded them the younger Donovan and Green survived their seven gunshot wounds during the Wilhelm Road shooting only after playing dead. Had they not, “we would have had a giant massacre here in Hernando County,” Magrino told jurors.
Both women gave emotional testimony last week. Both of them made a point to stare their attacker in the eyes.
Green’s testimony was especially trying for her. She lives in a neighboring county, but does her best to avoid driving into Hernando because the memories of the Wilhelm Road shootings still affect her, said Magrino.
“I had grave doubts whether she’d be able to testify,” he said.
Kalisz’s formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 6.
Relatives of Tillotson and Reed were ushered out of the courtroom moments after the sentencing recommendation was read Thursday. They didn’t speak to the media.
Kalisz’s relatives and friends also declined to comment.
Ron McAndrews, a former prison warden who advocates for an end to capital punishment, was the last witness called Thursday morning by the defense. He said Kalisz, if sentenced to life, would become an “asset” to a prison’s general population because of his experiences with AA.
Hours later, in an effort to poke holes into McAndrews’ testimony, Magrino told jurors during his closing arguments Kalisz was arrested in August 2011 for “bartering to get drugs” while in jail.
Another Article-
This article also demonstrates the high-risk associated with these unprofessional, unsupervised, “ANONYMOUS MEETINGS.”
You can see what we’ve been through locally in regards to these groups in our park/playground on, “THE RUDE AWAKENING,” and AA/NA PHOTOS IN PUBLIC PARKS AND CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUNDS !
And to think that people who needed REAL HELP were court mandated and expected to comply with this nonprofessional unqualified”SPONSOR” or be at risk of going back to jail!
BROOKSVILLE –March 6th 3012
A shackled and haggard John Kalisz shuffled into a hushed courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
For a moment he made eye contact with prosecutor Pete Magrino, who convinced jurors six weeks earlier to recommend a death sentence to the three-time convicted murderer.
He limped toward his seat. He sat down, looked over his shoulder and gave one quick glance at the packed courtroom.
Kalisz was devoid of emotion as he awaited his fate. His long brown hair was gone. His gray business suit was replaced with an orange jumpsuit.
He didn’t flinch as Hernando County Circuit Judge Daniel Merritt Sr. sentenced him to death.
Kalisz, 57, fatally shot his sister, Kathryn Donovan, 61, and her employee, Deborah Tillotson, 59, the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2010. He also shot and wounded his niece, Manessa Donovan, 21, and another woman, Amy Green, 35.
All four victims were at the elder Donovan’s home at 15303 Wilhelm Road near Brooksville. Kalisz, who used to live at the house, came in through a back door and opened fire. The four women were shot a combined 14 times.
Merritt, a 14-year veteran of the bench, took over the criminal docket less than a year ago. Tuesday was the first time he had sentenced a defendant to death.
He struggled to hold back his emotions.
He called Kalisz’s crimes “appalling” and said the shootings were carried out “methodically” and in a “cold, calculated manner.”
He said the jurors’ recommendation of death was “the only logical decision” they could have made after weighing the evidence.
Rest of story-
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/news/hernando-news/2012/mar/06/2/kalisz-sentenced-to-death-in-hernando-murders-ar-366172/
This is very sad! I wonder if the belief system that if one “goes off the wagon,even just once,” that they will “majorly screw up or die” added any extra unnecessary pressure to this man’s already stressful situation. The pressure of having to face his peers and turn in his key bobs or chips or whatever and start his sobriety and story entirely from scratch could have also seemed too much for him to bear!
I see a pattern here with people from these groups really going off the deep end when they have a weak moment and use alcohol or drugs even once. I guess if one is told, over and over again for years, that they are powerless one begins to truly believe it. This belief system just serves to add to the dementia of someone who is distraught, under the influence, feeling alone confused and disoriented. The belief that one is in grave danger and truly powerless is not helpful when one finds themselves feeling vulnerable in a potentially volatile situation, struggling to regain control!
I also see a disturbing pattern of repeat offenders feeling comfortable with hiding behind the coattails of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous to potentially be pardoned from serious crimes, even murder! It’s easy to see how his behavior has been fostered. The ones that are playing the system get out of jail over and over again by just opting to go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous and begin to believe that they will get away with almost anything understandably!