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Man gets death for killing girlfriend
By JOUNICE L. NEALY © St. Petersburg Times, published January 12, 1999 LARGO -- Vivian Harris rested her chin on clenched fists Monday and a smile broke through the tears. The man convicted of stabbing her daughter to death -- Harry Lee Butler -- was sentenced Monday to die. A jury had recommended Butler be executed for the murder of his 23-year-old girlfriend, Leslie Fleming, but it was up to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada to decide. Quesada said the evidence showed that Fleming was stabbed, beaten, strangled, suffocated and left for dead while the couple's three daughters slept. "I think it was perfect," Harris said."It couldn't have been a better decision." Butler, 37, appeared cavalier about the sentence. As he wiped fingerprint ink from his hands, Butler told his family that a death sentence may be advantageous. "You got a better chance (on appeal)," Butler said. "Don't worry about me. I'm all right." Some of Butler's family wept and left the courtroom. Bailiffs had to intervene when a friend of Butler and Fleming's sister began arguing while the two families were leaving the courtroom shoulder-to-shoulder. Bailiffs asked Fleming's family to wait a few minutes before escorting them to the parking lot. "He deserved just what he got," Shawna Fleming said on the way out. "I'm proud (of the sentence). I can go home and tell my nieces." The three little girls -- now ages 4, 5 and 7 -- were at home when their mom was tortured and stabbed 45 times in March 1997 by Butler, their dad. The attack lasted at least 10 minutes, according to court records. "The evidence shows that some of the wounds were actually inflicted specifically to torture her," Quesada said. "While we will never know for certain the order in which she was assaulted with a virtual menu of horror show techniques, we do know from Ms. Fleming's wounds that she was alive and fighting during part of the assault," Quesada said. The couple's oldest daughter, Lashara, testified that she heard her mother's screams. Lashara now worries that Butler will get out of jail and come after her, Shawna Fleming said. After Quesada read the seven-page sentencing order, he looked up and said, "May God have mercy on all our souls." The case will be automatically reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court.
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