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State to seek death penalty against James Hanson
Gloria Gomez reports
VALRICO, Fla. - Prosecutors say the violent and deadly crimes committed by career criminal James Hanson last August are callous and heinous, which is why the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty against him.
Hansen is accused of robbing a Valrico bank, carjacking and kidnapping Matthew Korattiyil, and later killing him.
At Hanson's bond hearing last September, Lead Detective Moises Garcia described Korattiyil's last moments alive.
"He relayed that the victim tried to get away from him. He caught up to him and dragged him down, strangled him, choked him with his hands first, and he finished with Mr. Korattyil's own belt," explained Garcia.
Shortly after, Hanson was denied bond.
Later, he tried to commit suicide in the Hillsborough County Jail. For weeks, the case was on hold while Hanson’s condition remained critical.
The last time we saw Hanson he was brought into court in a wheelchair and barely responsive to the judge's questions
Now Hanson, who has spent his life in and out of prison for violent crimes, may someday pay with his own life if convicted of these latest charges.