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Jury decides man should die for killing couple in '03

After one hour of deliberation, a jury recommends William Deparvine be executed for the shooting deaths of Richard and Karla Van Dusen.

TAMPA - The sound of a single clap pierced the silence of a packed courtroom, as the word "death" dropped off a court clerk's lips.

Jay Myers, 28-year-old son of murdered Karla Van Dusen, clasped hands with friend Judson Suber. Myers' eyes darted from the clerk who read the jury's decision to the silent, motionless killer sitting in the corner.

After an hour of deliberation, a jury of nine women and three men recommended the death penalty for William Deparvine for the November 2003 shooting deaths of Richard and Karla Van Dusen.

Deparvine, 53, was convicted Wednesday of killing the Tierra Verde couple by shooting them in the back of the head at point-blank range and dumping their bodies in a dirt driveway near Old Memorial Highway in northwest Hillsborough.

The jury voted 8-4 in favor of capital punishment for both counts of homicide.

Judge J. Rogers Padgett will consider the recommendation during a hearing Sept. 12. It's rare that a judge overturns a jury's recommendation for the death penalty.

"He got what he deserved," said Myers, who lives in Charlotte, N.C. "Anyone that has a problem with the death penalty didn't lose their mother like I did. I challenge them to go through what I've been through."

The jury spent much of Thursday listening to the Van Dusens' family talk about their loss. Several jurors cried.

Richard Van Dusen's daughter, Michelle Kroger, told jurors she wished her father had been alive to see her graduate from nursing school. The sales manager and outgoing outdoorsman had been a rock for his children after his first wife died of cancer, Kroger said. She had hoped he would be there to see her give birth to her first child. But that day will never come, she added.

"They say time heals all wounds, but I can honestly say this is one that will not heal," Kroger said.

When Myers read his statement, he choked back tears. He said his mother planned to help him run his dental practice before she was killed.

"I was robbed of more than a loving mother," Myers said. "I was robbed of my best friend."

Barbara White of St. Petersburg recalled a violent encounter she had with Deparvine some 16 years ago. Deparvine had set fire to a house she rented from him after a dispute over repairs to a refrigerator and stove. No one was injured in the blaze, but Deparvine was later convicted of arson.

In recent years, investigators have begun to suspect Deparvine of other crimes, including unsolved murders in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota and Texas.

A social worker called by Deparvine's defense team described the home he grew up in as strict and controlling. His engineer father demanded a lot and forbade the children to socialize with others.

Deparvine's two sisters, Tina Holthus and Kelly Cousineau, testified that Deparvine had trouble making and keeping personal relationships even within the family. He had been estranged from his parents, son and sister for about 20 years.

They talked about how Deparvine married a woman he got pregnant, because "it was the right thing to do," even after their father had advised Deparvine to leave and ignore her.

When the jury recommendation for death was read, Deparvine stared ahead, eyes blinking. He betrayed no emotion, although his sisters teared up, and one wailed while hugging attorney Ward after the courtroom cleared.