New jury to decide if convicted double-murder gets life in prison or death

TAMPA, Fla. - He's been sitting on death row for 15 years, but convicted double-murderer William Deparvine is back in a Tampa courtroom.

Deparvine gets a do-over and will be re-sentenced. While his conviction stands, his death sentence was thrown out after the U.S. Supreme court ruled all jury death verdicts must be unanimous. 

On Monday, Tampa Judge Michelle Sisco told more than 100 potential jurors what was at stake.

"The only possible penalty for first-degree murder in the state of Florida is either life in prison without the possibility of parole or death," explained Sisco.

A jury convicted Deparvine of killing a Tampa couple – Richard and Karla Van Dusen – 8 years ago.

William Deparvine

After reading back through the case, Judge Sisco told the group of potential jurors about Deparvine's crimes. 

He said Deparvine's intention was to steal the couple's vintage Chevy pickup truck. 

"Mr. Deparvine met with the Van Dusens as a prospective buyer of the pickup truck. The Van Dusen's bodies were discovered off old Memorial Highway in Hillsborough County on November 26, 2003," said Judge Sisco.

A Jeep Cherokee was found behind a business, around the corner from the bodies.

A witness said it showed signs something bad had happened.

"It had blood, it had all kinds of things inside of it; a purse inside of it, a seatbelt was hanging out, just a lot of things, you could tell it wasn’t right," explained a male witness.

The Van Dusen's neighbor, Allison Clark, spoke to FOX 13 News back in 2003 and said she was horrified by the murders.

"Tragic news. I don’t think they’ll be a face here that’ll be dry, tragic news. Unacceptable news," expressed Clark.

Now, the man responsible will get a second chance at life. Once a jury is selected, they will hear testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses.