Kalisz guilty of murder

In about the time it took John Kalisz to kill two women, drive 100 miles north and fatally shoot a sheriff's captain, jurors reached a verdict.

Kalisz was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of armed burglary. Jurors made up their minds after deliberating for 90 minutes.

His sister, Kitty Donovan, 61, was shot three times in the lower back the afternoon of Jan. 14, 2010 at 15303 Wilhem Road. The bullets ripped from one side of her body to the other. She was dead before paramedics arrived.

Three more women – Deborah Tillotson, 59, Amy Green, 35, and Manessa Donovan, 21 – also were shot. Tillotson was the second victim pronounced dead at the scene.

Green took the witness stand Friday. She said she heard bangs coming from the house and watched Donovan slide down the glass door leading to the back porch.

She screamed to the other women to run, but Kalisz gunned them down. In all, the four women sustained 14 bullet wounds, said prosecutor Pete Magrino.

Green and the younger Donovan were airlifted to Tampa General Hospital and survived. Both women faced their attacker last week in back-to-back days of emotional testimony.

Tillotson was shot multiple times in the torso. She suffered two bullet wounds in the lower abdomen, one in the left arm and another in the left thigh, said Dr. Kyle Shaw, who performed the autopsy.

Prosecutor Pete Magrino recited some of the statements Kalisz said before and after the shootings, including his desire to "erase the hell out of Kitty and her bloodline."

Among those who testified last week was Larry Lemon, who managed a rural parcel of property in northern Hernando County. He was a friend of the family and knew Kalisz.

Lemon said on the stand Kalisz had come to the property hours before the shootings for target practice. Magrino said Lemon's testimony went a long way to prove Kalisz was carrying out a premeditated "operation."

Kalisz declined to testify in his defense. His attorney, Alan Fanter, did not call any witnesses after the state rested.

During his closing arguments, Fanter told jurors the evidence presented by the state did not prove the shootings were premeditated.

"He was overcome with hatred," Fanter said of Kalisz, who lost all of his possessions in a fire two days prior to the shootings and blamed his sister for his prior felony convictions.

Fanter said Kalisz had no getaway in mind, no exit plans after the shooting. That showed he hadn't planned the killings days in advance the way Magrino had argued.

The defense is expected to call several witnesses during the penalty phase of the trial in an attempt to keep him off death row.

Attorneys were granted a day off to prepare. Jurors will return to listen to more testimony Wednesday morning

Jurors on Monday listened to the last 20 minutes of the recorded interview Kalisz had with investigators 13 days after the shootings.

Kalisz was in a room at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. He was heavily medicated and was being treated for multiple gunshot wounds he inflicted during a standoff with authorities in Dixie County.

Kalisz shot and killed Capt. Chad Reed during the gunfight. He was convicted almost a year ago for that homicide and was sentenced to life in prison.

The information about Reed's death was withheld from jurors during the evidentiary phase of the trial, but they were made aware Kalisz was arrested after putting up a fight. They knew why he was in the hospital.

"It was a possibility (that) I'm making it outta that situation," Kalisz said on the recording, referring to his motivation to open fire on law enforcement outside a Cross City gas station.

Jurors are expected to hear more details about the Dixie shooting this week.

Dixie County Sheriff Dewey H. Hatcher Sr. was among those in attendance Monday.

"I was very pleased with what I heard today," Hatcher said.

Tillotson's family members declined to comment as they filed out of the courtroom.

On Monday, jurors learned for the first time Manessa Donovan, 21, was pregnant when she was shot.

Donovan declined to say so while on the stand Thursday. Her fetus died during emergency surgery.

On the recording, Faulkingham asked Kalisz whether he knew his niece was pregnant. He didn't answer the question directly, choosing instead to call her a "liar."

A few of the jurors looked at Kalisz during that portion of the interview. One, in particular, stared at him for several minutes.