Alleged mass murderer ruled competent for trial

TAMPA -- After nearly two years in a state mental hospital, Dexter Levingston, the man accused in one of the grisliest mass murders in Hillsborough County history, is mentally competent to stand trial, according to hospital psychiatrists.

Levingston, 27, will be brought to Hillsborough County soon to undergo evaluations by three court-appointed psychiatrists. If they concur with the hospital's assessment, Levingston will be tried on five counts of first-degree murder.

The victims found in Levingston's Seffner home on Oct. 20, 2000, were his grandmother, Nancy Marlins, 57; her sister Lillie Cacciamani, 56; Cacciamani's husband, Barry, 47; her daughter, Connie Carter, 40; and Michele Murtha, a 12-year-old girl in Marlins' care.

Authorities said the killer waited hours for the victims to return home, then attacked them with a machete, scissors, a screwdriver, a knife and two guns. Some were shot in the head; some had their throats slashed.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright