Brian Hyde, 22, was convicted on Monday for the murders of his aunt, her pregnant daughter, 17, and the teenager’s boyfriend
A Florida man has been sentenced to four concurrent life sentences in prison without parole for using a machete to kill his aunt, her 17-year-old pregnant daughter and the teenager’s boyfriend.
Brian Hyde, 22, was convicted on Monday for the murders of 37-year-old Dorla Pitts, Starlette Pitts and 19-year-old Michael Deon Kelly Jr. at their home in Lehigh Acres, Florida, in 2015.
Hyde was found guilty of four second-degree murder charges after the jury deliberated for three hours following a five-day trial. The fourth murder charge was for Starlette Pitts’ unborn child.
The victims were found dead after a family friend went to check on them. Hyde was arrested after he was pulled over by law enforcement for driving erratically in Dorla Pitts’ car with bloodied pants and shoes.
Dorla Pitt, a certified nursing assistant, is believed to have walked in on the massacre in progress as she was heard by her husband shouting ‘Brian! What happened here!’ before the line went dead, reported News Press.
Starlette Pitts, 17, was pregnant with her boyfriend 19-year-old Michael Deon Kelly Jr.’s baby. The couple are pictured left. On the right is Dorla Pitts with her husband, Dorrien
A bloodied palm print at the scene linked Hyde to the murder.
Hyde, a native of Belize, told the court he did not remember the circumstances surrounding the killings.
His defense team claimed this was because of the trauma he sustained while watching many of his family members killed in the Central American country.
He was convicted of the four murder charges in April.
Hyde’s first appearance before a jury in November 2017 was declared a mistrial after a relative inadvertently revealed that the defendant was in the country illegally.
Starlette Pitts’ and Michael Kelly’s one-year-old baby survived the attack. The child is now being raised by Starlette Pitts’ father, Dorrien.
Hyde was convicted of the four murder charges in April. Pictured right is Michael Kelly, Starlette Pitt’s boyfriend