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Mothers address Steven Lorenzo in court: 'You do not deserve to be living'

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The mothers of two men who were murdered by Steven Lorenzo addressed their son’s killer in court on Tuesday.

Lorenzo admitted to killing Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholts in 2003. The deaths sent shockwaves of fear through the gay community in Tampa in the early 2000s.

Prosecutors said Lorenzo met the two men on different nights at a bar in Tampa, and brought them back to his home, where he gave them drugs, tied them up and then sexually tortured them before killing them with his accomplice Scott Schweicker.

Lorenzo was convicted in a federal court on related drug charges and is currently serving a 200-year federal sentence.

Lorenzo told the court on Monday he wants to be sentenced to death because he’s 64 years old, expects to die in prison and he believes the conditions on death row are better.

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On Tuesday, he heard directly from his two victims’ mothers.

“He was my first born, light of my life, he wasn’t perfect but he was loved by all,” Ruth Wachholtz said about her son Michael.

She told the judge she wants her son’s killer to be sentenced to death.

“For 20 years he’s breathed and lived and Michael hasn’t, at taxpayer expense, no less. It’s time to end this,” Wachholtz told the court.

“You are dirt underneath my fingernails and you do not deserve to be living,” said Pam Williams, the mother of Jason Galehouse.

The state rested its case after hearing from the mothers. Lorenzo is acting as his own attorney during the death penalty phase. He rested his case on Tuesday without calling any witnesses or presenting an evidence.

The final sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24.

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Source: WFLA

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