Trial begins Monday for man accused of strangling, killing pregnant stepmom
Trial starts Monday for the Eustis man accused of killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child in 2019. The suspect, Ian Anselmo, was the woman’s stepson. The now 26-year-old is pleading insanity.
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Court documents show his attorney will be using IQ and mental health evaluations, grades from his time at UCF, diary entries and family photos all as evidence for why they’re claiming he wasn’t in the right state of mind when it happened.
Anselmo himself dialed 911, telling the operator he strangled and killed his stepmom. Bodycam video revealed when officers arrived to Greenwood Cemetery Anselmo still had Sue Ellen’s blood on his hand.
Arrest documents show Sue Ellen was inside a car with Anselmo when officers pulled up. They found her bleeding, barely alive – with a cord wrapped around her neck. Anselmo is heard on bodycam telling officers he’s afraid his father will be mad at him over what happened. EMS rushed her to the hospital where they found out she was six weeks pregnant. She later died.
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Records show Sue Ellen had tried to keep her husband and stepson away from her, so she stayed at the salon where she worked. She told police she “recently separated” from her husband. She also told investigators she was afraid at how her husband and stepson would handle the break-up. Charging documents said the family, including Ian, knew the victim was pregnant.
Anselmo’s facing charges for second-degree murder and killing an unborn child by injury to the mother.
He entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorney, Richard Hornsby, will call in experts to testify he wasn’t aware of the impact of his actions when he did it.
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After his arrest, Anselmo wrote letters to his dad and family members. At times, he spoke about how he was scared and on suicide watch – writing things like, “I just want this nightmare to end.” He also told them he was “innocent and would never get this time back.”
But then at other times, Anselmo displayed almost childlike behavior -- drawing cartoons, quoting Dora the Explorer and saying, “We’ll have a Paw Patrol marathon when I get back.”
Sue Ellen was later buried at Greenwood Cemetary. Trial starts at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
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