Accused torture killer asks to represent himself
TAMPA (FOX 13) - Notorious criminal defendant Steven Lorenzo says he will act as his own attorney and defend himself against two capital murder charges.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Mark Kiser tried to explain the pitfalls of that decision to Lorenzo, but he did not want to hear it Wednesday.
"No one has the authority to put somebody as my representation. I am the owner of that name on that charging instrument I am the attorney for that name," he said. "So I am done with this game that's being played. I will represent myself, period."
Lorenzo and co-conspirator Scott Schweickert are accused of terrorizing the gay community in Tampa Bay in 2003.
Prosecutors say Lorenzo and Schweickert lured Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz to his home in Seminole Heights, where he drugged, tortured, and killed them.
Last summer, Schweickert cut a deal with the state in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table and testifying against Lorenzo.
Now that Lorenzo will act as his own attorney, he will face his former partner in crime in the courtroom.