Christopher Lunz / Nathaniel Taylor
http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/con...als-pinellas-killer-commits-suicide-after-fa/If taken at his word, Christopher Lunz wanted to die.
After being convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of his father, Lunz begged a Pinellas County jury to sentence him to death in 2006. Instead, jurors recommended life in prison.
But Lunz, 41, made good on his death wish today, killing himself inside Florida State Prison in Raiford. His suicide came roughly 30 hours after he stabbed his cellmate to death and injured a second inmate while at Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, authorities say.
Lunz had been housed at Franklin since August 2006. He was only taken to the more secure Raiford facility after prison officials found convicted child molester Nathaniel Taylor dead Monday morning in the cell he shared with Lunz.
[...]
Prison officers opened cell doors at 4:55 a.m. Monday and immediately heard Lunz say he had a hostage and warn officers to stay back, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger. An officer talked Lunz into surrendering a shank and noticed Taylor's body.
Officials did not identify the injured inmate but said his injuries were not life-threatening.
Plessinger said she didn't know how Lunz made the shank or the manner of his suicide.
[...]
Lunz and co-defendant William Westerman were charged with first-degree murder in 2005. Authorities said the men drove from their home in March 2003 to kill 56-year-old David Lunz. Investigators said Christopher Lunz wanted his father dead so he could inherit his estate, which was valued at nearly $400,000.
The case made headlines when it went to trial in June 2006, partly because Lunz acted as his own attorney for most of the proceedings.
[...]
Lunz brimmed with confidence during his trial, even planning a press conference to announce what he thought would be a not guilty verdict. It wasn't to be. His dream of vindication shattered, Lunz pleaded for a death sentence during the trial's penalty phase.
"I don't mind," he testified. "I'm not too happy. I'm 38 years old, and I've never been in love, never been on a date."
He also testified that his father was killed for raping him as a child and beating his mother. Lunz called himself a serial killer and said he had killed more than 20 other men who had raped children.
The jury still refused to recommend death.
"I should have known better," Lunz said after he received the life sentence. "I should have known if you ask for death, they give you life."