A Florida man has been found guilty of murdering his mother, father, and brother in an execution that prosecutors believe stemmed from a dispute over him stealing $200,000 from his family to buy sex toys and gifts for a Bulgarian woman he communicated with online.
Grant Amato, 30, remained expressionless in court on Wednesday as the verdict was read shortly after 10pm following eight hours of deliberation in the triple murder case from January.
It was determined Grant shot his parents, Margaret and Chad Amato, and brother Cody one by one as they arrived back to their Seminole County home following a stint in a sex addiction rehab clinic and being told to get a job to pay relatives back.
Surviving brother Jason Amato cried and hugged loved ones after the verdict for Grant – who was arrested for stealing propofol from his nursing job last June then connected with Sylvia Ventsislavova on an adult website last July.
Florida nurse Grant Amato, 30, was found guilty on three counts of murder on Wednesday
Grant (right) killed his brother Chad, 31, and his father on January 25, two weeks after leaving sex rehab
It was after his dad and sibling revealed to webcam girl, Sylvia Ventsislavova, who he was obsessed with that he wasn’t as financially successful as he had claimed since last July
His parents sent him to rehab last December and ordered him to get a job to pay them back for the money he had stolen. His murdered mother Margaret is pictured
He would send her lingerie in exchange for seeing her wear or use the items.
Grant faces life in prison or the death penalty on August 12 when he is sentenced.
Grant’s defense team is now trying to save his life, WFTV reported, and have claimed authorities zeroed in on the suspect from day one without considering other possibilities.
Prosecutors claimed that on January 25 Grant used an IWI Jericho 941 handgun owned by his and his brother Cody’s best friend Blake Turpin, who was present in court.
The defense criticized the timeline of the killings and accused them of making up the story of stealing a gun to murder his family after his parents ordered him to get a job or be forced to join the Army and be cut off financially.
‘Blake, with his incredible sense of timing, testifies,”I think Grant stole my gun back in January. That’s going to help the state, isn’t it?”…He wants to help the state produce a gun — an imaginary gun.’
Surviving brother Jason is seen hugging the attorney on Wednesday after the verdict
The slayings took place at their Seminole County home but the defense criticized the timeline
On Monday, images of Sylvia were projected onto a screen in court and Assistant State Attorney Domenick Leo told the jury about that moment: ‘I know some of you looked at him. I know what some of you saw, because I saw the same thing. He was transfixed on that woman.’
Leo said about his infatuation with Sylvia during closing arguments Wednesday morning: ‘Grant fell in love with a woman named Silvie. Not only did he fall in love with her, he became obsessed with her – to the point that she’s all that mattered.’
The prosecution claimed Grant had presented himself as financially successful and ‘had to devise a way to get Silvie back’ after his family ‘blew up his spot’ by exposing his lies while he was being rehabilitated between last December 22 and January 4.
Prosecution said Wednesday: ‘Grant fell in love with a woman named Silvie. Not only did he fall in love with her, he became obsessed with her’. Grant stole $200,000 from his family to buy Sylvia sex toys and lingerie
Prosecutors claimed that Grant used an IWI Jericho 941 handgun owned by his and his brother Cody’s best friend Blake Turpin, who was present in court
He checked into the Fort Lauderdale facility two days after his family reported him missing and expressed concern he was depressed and trying to harm himself.
It was claimed Grant used his dead father’s fingerprint to access a USAA banking app on his killed brother’s phone and add his own PNC bank account.
While Amato’s lawyer, Jeff Dowdy, argued there wasn’t any blood on Grant when he was found, despite the scene being a bloody mess, prosecutors said Grant’s medical job at AdventHealth Orlando helped him cover up and stage a murder-suicide.
It was argued Grant saw his father and brother as obstacles but his mother was simply there when he carried out the murders.
After the family had cut him off from the WiFi connection, Grant used a Publix login to speak to Sylvia when ‘his parents’ and brother’s bodies [weren’t] even cold,’ Leo told the court.
He was found by authorities with his passport in possession and prosecutors believe he wanted the webcam woman to invite him to Bulgaria.
Grant was found with his passport on him and authorities believe he planned to flee to Bulgaria. His family was concerned he was depressed and wanted to harm himself before the murders