Authorities: Inmate kills cellmate; state to seek death penalty

PUNTA GORDA — A grand jury indicted an inmate at the Charlotte Correctional Institution on first-degree murder charges for reportedly killing another inmate, the State Attorney’s Office said Friday.

William Tulenko, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in the Florida prison, is accused of strangling another inmate to death in February at the state correctional facility south of Punta Gorda.

The victim, James Lindsey Howze, was the only other person in the cell at the time of the killing, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors presented the case Friday to a grand jury at the Charlotte County Justice Center in Punta Gorda. To file a first-degree murder charge against someone, prosecutors need to convince a grand jury that there is enough evidence to support the charge. Grand jury proceedings are seldom made public.

Friday’s grand jury decision was released at a news conference at the Justice Center.

State Attorney Amira Fox, of the 20th Judicial Circuit, made the announcement, saying she intends to seek the death penalty in the case.

At the time of the killing, Tulenko had a murder case pending in Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Melbourne for killing an inmate there, Fox said. He received a life sentence for that charge June 7.

Howze was also serving a life sentence for murder, home invasion robbery, and kidnapping.

He also had a pending murder charge, accused of killing an inmate in Franklin County Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, Florida, Fox said.

The State Attorney’s Office handles cases where an inmate dies of suspicious causes, according to Fox. The Office of the Florida Inspector General investigated the slaying and then turned in the case for review to the State Attorney’s Office.

Fox thanked the Charlotte County grand jury for its attention and hard work.

No questions were permitted, due to it being an active case.

“I do want to say though,” Fox said. “Due to the facts and evidence in this case, which I believe clearly show the aggravating factors of heinous, atrocious and cruel, and cold, calculated and pre-meditated (murder), and due to the defendant’s prior history, it is highly likely that we will seek the death penalty in this case.”

Chief Assistant State Attorney Richard Montecalvo and Charlotte County Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Shannon Doolity are prosecuting the case, Fox said.