Florida Man Murders docuseries reveals pair 'prayed to alligator god' before arrest over woman's decapitation murder. Films are made in two main ways. Somehow, Schiller was able to escape, and he immediately contacted Du Bois. "It was $1.2 million in cash and assets and a $2 million life insurance policy. Soon, Frank's big sister was on a flight to Miami. Their case was the bizarre kidnapping of another Miami millionaire. However, the movie, the books, and articles are very inaccurate. "Money was there for him to make other people happy and to play, to buy toys," she said. So what was the plan?" florida man murders frank and christina. "They put him in his Toyota 4Runner, his SUV," said Ferrer. "This is where the Sun Gym was located. The police also connected John Mese, the owner of Sun Gym, to the case. The now desperate Sun Gym gang had tracked down their former captive. He notarized the documents that Marc had signed early on. When the housekeeper arrived the following day, she couldnt find the couple, and they had left their dog behind. Despite his cooperation, Schiller still remained chained like an animal in the Miami warehouse. where can i donate items for ukraine near me; emerson knives canada Almost four years after he was left for dead, Marc Schiller faced off again against the Sun Gym gang. The two crimes would become one huge case -- a case that Judge Alex Ferrer, now TV's "Judge Alex", and Miami-Dade prosecutor Gail Levine would never forget. But literally, there were times during the trial when the lawyers would come sidebar and I leaned over and look at them and say, 'You got to be f--king kidding me' and the lawyers would even laugh and go, 'I don't know what to tell you, Judge,' because of the crazy things that were happening in this trial. (44) 2021 TV-14. In their multiple botched attempts to kidnap Schiller, the gang missed on various occasions, Ferrer detailed to Fox News. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Often referenced as "Florida Man. Dec 20, 2016. They forced him to sign papers turning over all his assets to them. But even Ed Du Bois, with 50 years of experience as a private investigator, had never heard anything quite like Schiller's story. Despite Schiller's testimony in the Griga and Furton murder trials -- whichlasted over four months and became the longest in Florida history --according to Ferrer, Schiller would later be arrested by federal agents on fraud charges outside the courtroom mere seconds after providing his damning witness testament against his captors. He later expressed remorse and moved to New Jersey to escape the attention. "Did any of your captors show you any kindness? Each episode: one case -not a hunt for one man as the title might imply. In February 1998, almost three years after the gruesome murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton, Danny Lugo and Adrian Doorbal were set to go on trial. And she just keeps going, 'No you weren't kidnapped, you were drunk, you hit a pole," said Ferrer. If you "think" that you've "seen" something like "this" before - then . Roberts asked. After that, the group attempted to kill Marc by putting him in a car and setting him on fire, but Marc somehow survived. It was reported that Jorge married Jocelyn Nunez in July 2011, and as of 2013, they were living in Miami-Dade, Florida. "She was very beautiful. Once in the apartment, Doorbal tried to subdue Griga, but he fought back. The original telefilm takes its inspiration from their hit true crime documentary series by the same name. Tags: Crime, Jacksonville, Gov. His assailants kept him blindfolded and shackled, hed said, depriving him of food, beating him, and burning him with cigarettes. Jorge struck a deal with the prosecution and testified against his co-conspirators. Legal Statement. He called his family, telling his wife to take their two young children and flee to Colombia. Cloud DVR with no storage limits. "And they drove the car into a light pole. / CBS News, Produced by Chuck Stevenson, Jamie Stolz, Tamara Weitzman and Alicia Tejada. I hadn't eaten for like three days. I realized that -- I was in the driver's seat because they never imagined that I'd be sitting there accusing them," said Schiller. The gang then tried to get bank info from Furton, but she was completely out of it and soon died. "They dressed like ninjas. But then they were able to back over him and then run over him again," said Jimenez. It put my whole family through hell. "She was a very, very attractive woman," Jimenez said. ", "And then eventually, against all odds, this guy escapes," added Ferrer. "They handcuffed my hands behind my back.". Deepra Sarkar. Petrescu would play a crucial role as police continued gathering more evidence connecting Lugo and Doorbal to the disappearance of Frank and Krisztina. Danny Lugo had convinced her he was a spy on a secret mission. And what they contain are two bodies," said Jimenez. All that changed, though, when a police made a stunning discovery. Often referenced as "Florida Man" in headlines, these killers commit bizarre and outlandish crimes that captivate the nation and sometimes feel as though they are straight out of a Hollywood movie. That doesn't kill him and he gets away. Whap! "You must have been terrified," Roberts commented. ", He did express his remorse, saying, "I wish I hadn't been involved. "They were living in the house. "We had more than that. I guess I was the eagle," said Schiller. For their roles in the grisly murders, Lugo and Doorbal were both convicted and each were handed two death sentences, and Mese was sentenced to 56 years in prison. In May 1995, Danny Lugo and Adrian Doorbal would be at the center of one of the most notorious crimes in Miami history: a complicated and deadly plot that involved kidnapping, money and murder. In May 1995, wealthy businessman Frank Griga and his girlfriend, Krisztina Furton, had plans to travel to the Bahamas. The Sun Gym Gang would fumble their attempt at extorting Griga when he ended up dying before they could extract the security codes from him. Then, Danny got a hold of Krisztina and gave her a horse tranquilizer that eventually killed her. Atone point in his career, Ferrer oversawthe 1998 trial of the Sun Gym Gang, a groupwho spent their days pumping iron and their nights carrying out gruesome and grisly tortures and murders -- all for capital gain. Lugo and Doorbal, posing as businessmen, lured Frank and Krisztina back to Doorbal's apartment. "Krisztina and Frank were a perfect couple. After his release, he became the manager of a suburban Miami health club called Sun Gym. The so-called Sun Gym Gangfirst kidnapped and tortured a wealthy man into signing over all his assets to them before they set their sights on Frank Griga and his girlfriend, Krisztina Furton. These morons had taken documents that were evidence of their crime and threw it away in the garbage can in the conference room where they put the investigator," Ferrer told producers. " in fact we mobilized right in this park," Jimenez pointed out. Frank Griga's yellow Lamborghini is shown in evidence photos. "'They want you to come to Miami to report it,'" Schiller said. A pair of neighbors in Florida are dead following what appeared to be a murder-suicide on Monday afternoon that allegedly grew out of a dispute over security lights. By David Ovalle. One man's journey to find the "Florida Man" for his alleged "Murders". With Griga dead, they had no way of extorting his assets from him. "They never went out, never read them their rights, they never asked them a question, they never even said, 'Hello, here I am. "And then they realized that every time a car comes on the street, the headlights were lighting them up and they start running through people's backyards yelling into the headset, 'Abort, abort!' The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade: Roid Rage focuses on how the members of what became known as the Sun Gym Gang brutally murdered Frank and Krisztina. ", "At that point, they dragged me to the van -- a white van," Schiller said. Lugo and Doorbal have appealed their convictions multiple times over the past 15 years. And that was their attempt to kill him. He's my old boyfriend," Levine explained. Asked why she didn't she call police, Schiller told Roberts, "I don't know. "Finally, she gives him the phone. Fire!' Frank Griga was a Hungarian immigrant who moved to the US hoping for a better life. "Yeah. Sometimes, it was with fire. ", FLORIDA MAN'S FORMER ESCORT WIFE TRIED HIRING A HIT MAN: 'I WAS PRAYING IT WASN'T HER'. By May of 1995, five months after his harrowing escape, the Sun Gym gang had burned through all of Marc Schiller's money. "I was in a coma when they picked me up," he told Roberts. They took the bodies to an empty warehouse. Three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of three Florida men who'd set out to go fishing - killings authorities say came shortly after the . It got more than 11,000 retweets and more than two million views. florida highway patrol salary 2020; delayed urticaria after covid. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. So over the years, I spent nine out of my 10 years as a circuit court judge on the criminal court bench in Miami,"Ferrer told Fox News. On December 31, police in Port Salerno, Florida, were called to a home shared by 58-year-old Christina Ruth Diorio and her son, 34-year-old Darren Keith Pouncey. Roberts asked Levine. He met her at a strip club, and she dreamed of being a professional diver. They had been murdered and then dismembered. But the real plan mirrored the violent abduction of Marc Schiller: kidnap and torture Frank Griga until he signed over every nickel he had and revealed to the gang where his assets were kept. All they had to go on was Bartusz's description of the two men with whom the couple was going to dinner that night. "In no way am I justifying these horrible events," Raimondo, who was released early in 2002, told the Miami New Times when the movie came out. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. "And the doctor said, 'You can't move him. "It's a true rags-to-riches story," said Roberts. They pitched a phony investment idea and lured them to a closed restaurant on May 24, 1995. "Well, guilty, yeah, but -- I don't believe in the -- death penalty," he replied. The family of Griga also took umbrage with the film's depiction of the convicted killers and told the Miami Herald in 2013 that portraying the gang as a crew of misfits looking to get ahead is "ridiculous. Schiller can't forget the sick soundtrack that came with his daily beatings. They torture him, burning him with lighters, pistol-whipping him, shoving gun barrels in his mouth just everything you can imagine. With the little money he had, he spent a lot of it at the Solid Gold Strip Club. Alice Peacock; Published: 21:30, 10 Jul 2021; Updated: 0:36, 11 Jul 2021; "Danny was a big muscular guy," said Jimenez. "While they were beating you?" The gang used costumes and comic book code names like Batman and Robin and tried to stage an accident to kidnap Schiller. Roberts asked Levine. Market data provided by Factset. Police were initially unconcerned, but after the Lamborghini was found abandoned they realized something serious could have happened to the couple. He came from Budapest, Hungary, and found a minimum wage job in New York City. "The last day? She says Schiller didn't come forward, because he had his own credibility issues due to his alleged involvement in Medicare fraud. In 2008, Jorge got into trouble again when he tried to steal from a convenience store and received probation. He was afraid to go to the police because his kidnappers, who he said referred to themselves as the Sun Gym Gang, threatened to expose his own shady business dealings if he went to authorities. He was on top of the world until May 24, 1995. As forSchiller, he ended up servingtwo years in federal prison for medical billing fraud. We need a dead body to respond to. She had been walking her dog when she saw the couple heading out to dinner with two unidentified men. "They plied you with alcohol for three straight days" Roberts noted to Schiller. old cass tech high school photos idb staff salary structure ", "The subject is so dark and people die so you don't want to laugh. "It was so encompassing from the day I got the call, from the day I started investigating it, from the day I met the victim's family, from the day I met everybody involved, from the relationship that I developed with police in investigating the case," she explained. "He's just vanished. "He was Argentinean born, grew up in the U.S., went to school, got his CPA license, he had a medical billing business that did very well," Jimenez explained. The 44-year-old is facing second-degree murder and kidnapping charges. "Oh he loved cars, yes, he loved cars," Griga said. As per the show, Judi hadnt seen them before but got a good look at both of them, providing a description to the police. Witnesses said he stared toward them and sang a hymn-type song . "They waited in a van and they had their biggest gym rats come out," said Levine. The disappearance of Frank and Krisztina would become one of Miami's most notorious crimes. So these geniuses take this chainsaw back to Home Depot and return it," said Ferrer. Everything that happened in Gainesville, Fla. happened very fast. . This is what we would call the gang headquarters," said Jimenez. "Lugo and Doorbal, on the other hand, they wanted to live that life," Ferrer continued. (Courtesy of Oxygen), "It's a comedy of errors their attempts to kidnap him because they were going to take Schiller to a warehouse, terrorize him and get him to sign over this money and they felt he wouldn't go to the cops," Ferrer continued, noting that he disagreed with the victims' portrayals in the movie. So we have a lot to go on," said Jimenez. A co-conspirator, who "48 Hours" agreed to keep anonymous, worked with the Sun Gym gang to kidnap Schiller. Doorbal and Lugo approached Frank Griga with a phony, made-up business scheme and a meeting was set at the Solid Gold strip club. (Courtesy of Oxygen). See production, box office & company info, i am sure you HAVE seen something like this .. many times before. 3 FLORIDA MEN IN CUSTODY AFTER ATTACKING, RUNNING OVER FWC OFFICER WITH ATV, SHERIFF SAYS. So, lets find out what happened then, shall we. "He's trying to convince the nurse to give him a phone, because he says he was kidnapped. At first, the detectives hoped they could find Frank and Krisztina alive. Finally, the daily torture was too much. "So you have a missing Hungarian couple and a Lamborghini," Roberts noted. Frank was identified through a tooth, while Krisztina was identified with her breast implant serial number. Thus, she called Judi Bartusz, a friend and neighbor, who reported Frank and Krisztina missing. Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for January 8, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'OK' vacating Frogmore: 'If we need to move out, we will get ourselves out', Mia Wasikowska talks leaving Hollywood: Felt really disconnected, Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson involved in Georgia police chase; boyfriend arrested, Rebel Wilson says Meghan Markle wasn't as 'naturally warm' as Prince Harry in meeting, Kelly Osbourne shares first glimpse of infant son in photo with 'Uncle Jack', Prince Harry addresses 'Spare' backlash in interview: 'I have never looked for sympathy in this'. Whap!". "If the police had listened to him and investigated, Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton would probably be alive today," said Ferrer. Daniel Lugo was given two death sentences for his role in the murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton. From there, they cut up the bodies with hatchets, put them in 50-gallon drums, and threw them into the Everglades. According to the Lake County . "He'd do anything and everything that Danny Lugo told him to do.". Schiller would reunite with his family in Colombia. Oxygen's true crime series Florida Man Murders returns on July 11 with a new crop of crime sprees to investigate, from double homicides to a mysterious severed human head. First, on . Griga paused before continuing. All rights reserved. "The victim comes from Colombia. Du Bois handed over the names and information to the investigators, who headed out to look for the suspects. Doorbal was driving," Jimenez explained. They got him absolutely drunk, crashed his car into a pole, set his body in the front seat, and lit the vehicle on fire. The gang would be further mired by other mishaps in their attempts to dispose of the bodies of the couple even returning a bloody chain saw to Home Depot after its motor burned when the group forgot to add motor oil for its operation and Doorbal tried to saw Furtons head off.