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AKA Dolan Darling
(B/M)
Date of Sentence: 12/18/98
Circumstances of Offense:
Sean Smith was convicted and
sentenced to death for the murder of Grazyna Mlynarczyk.
On 10/29/96, Mlynarczyk was
found dead her bedroom by her boyfriend, Zdzislaw Raminiski. Mlynarczyk
was naked from the waist down and had been shot in the head.
The morning of Mlynarczyk’s
murder, she had told Zdzislaw that she had a doctor’s appointment and
would call him afterwards. Mlynarczyk never called, and Zdzislaw was
not able to contact her by phone.
At this time, Zdzislaw went to
Mlynarczyk’s residence and entered using his key. Zdzislaw found
Mlynarczyk, naked from the waist down, lying in her bedroom and moved
her to the bed. He noted that she was cold and covered in blood. Smith
then called the police.
Firefighters responded to
Zdzislaw’s call and determined that Mlynarczyk was dead. Officers
secured items from the scene, including a lotion bottle, a woman’s
undergarment, a pillow with a gun shot entering one side and exiting the
other, two AmSouth Bank envelopes holding a total of $1,200, a shoe box
holding $1,000 and a wallet holding $58.
The officers also canvassed
the area for possible witnesses. The police contacted Smith during the
canvassing because he lived in an apartment close to Mylnarczyk’s, but
he told police that he had been working and did not know about the
incident.
A medical examiner determined
that Mlynarcyk was shot at close range through the pillow. According to
the medical examiner, there was semen in Mlynarczyk’s vaginal area;
furthermore, Mlynarczyk had a tear to the labia majora caused by trauma
to the vagina, which was associated with nonconsensual sex.
The DNA of
the semen collected from Mlynarczyk’s body matched the DNA obtained from
Smith’s blood sample. Furthermore, a trial expert, using statistical
analysis, determined that Smith’s DNA profile would be found in 1 out of
101 billion African Americans.
Finally, Smith’s fingerprints were
matched to the lotion bottle secured by the police from Mlynarczyk’s
home.
Additional Information:
Orange County Circuit Court # 96-13626
Gerald Paul Daigneault, a cab
driver, testified that he picked up Smith as a passenger on 11/07/96.
Smith proceeded to rob Daigneault at gunpoint. Even though Daigneault
gave Smith the money that he demanded, Smith shot him in the back of the
head. Daigneault opened the door and rolled out onto the ground
‘playing dead’ until Smith drove away in Daigneault’s car.
On 04/04/97,
Smith was sentenced to three sentences of 10 years, 6 months and 5 days
for Carjacking with a Deadly Weapon, Robbery without a Deadly Weapon and
Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon.
Trial Summary:
06/12/97 Smith was indicted on the following:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder
Count II: Armed Sexual
Battery
Count III: Armed Robbery
12/03/98 Smith was found guilty on Counts I and II.
Smith was found not guilty on Count III.
12/15/98 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 11 to 1 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
12/18/98 Smith was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder – Death
Count II: Armed
Sexual Battery – 21 Years, 4 months and 15 days
Case Information:
Smith filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 01/14/99.
The issues addressed included that the trial court erred in denying
Smith’s motion for judgment of acquittal, in admitting DNA evidence and
testimony of a medical expert, in limiting defense questioning of
prospective jurors and that the death penalty was not proportional.
The
Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the
conviction or sentence and affirmed the conviction and sentence on
01/03/02. Rehearing was denied on 02/12/02. A mandate was issued on
02/12/02.
Smith filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States
Supreme Court on 05/13/02. The petition was denied on 10/07/02.
Smith filed a 3.850 Motion in the circuit court on 09/24/03. The motion
was denied on 11/02/04.
On
12/17/04, Smith filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The
appeal is currently pending.
On
11/02/05, Smith filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the
Florida Supreme Court. The petition is currently pending.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
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