Sentencing phase for Sebring bank shooter begins Monday, gunman faces death penalty

FOX 13 News Staff
·1 min read
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<div>Booking image for Zephan Xaver, who faces a possible death sentence for shooting and killing five women at a bank in 2019.</div>
Booking image for Zephan Xaver, who faces a possible death sentence for shooting and killing five women at a bank in 2019.

SEBRING, Fla. - Jury selection begins Monday in the penalty phase for the man who shot and killed five women at a Highlands County bank in 2019, as Zephen Xaver waits to find out whether he'll be sentenced to death.

It was January 23, 2019, when Xaver walked into SunTrust Bank off U.S. 27 in Sebring and shot four employees, along with a customer. Prosecutors said he forced the women onto the floor and opened fire before calling 911.

Bank employees Ana Piñon-Williams, Debra Cook, Marisol Lopez, Jessica Montague, and a customer, Cynthia Watson, were all murdered.

RELATED: Sebring bank shooter apologizes in handwritten note for 2019 murders, court records show

Xaver, who was 21 at the time of the shooting and was once a correctional officer trainee, pleaded guilty in March 2023, writing a letter of apology for his crimes.

Jury selection is expected to last about two weeks, with the sentencing trial set to span two months.

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