Michael Zack earned the sympathy of bar patrons across the Panhandle, then he killed them
A drifter from Tallahassee who killed two women in the Florida Panhandle during a crime spree in 1996 is scheduled to be executed this week for the death of an Escambia County woman.
Michael Duane Zack, 54, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously refused to block Zack’s execution, rejecting arguments that he should be spared the death penalty because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Justices upheld an Escambia County circuit judge’s ruling last month against Zack, who was sent to Death Row for the 1996 murder of Ravonne Smith, of Escambia County.
Zack’s attorneys also are asking a federal appeals court to halt the execution, after a U.S. district judge turned down their arguments.
Who is Zack and why is he on death row?
According to court documents, Michael Zack’s crime spree started in June of 1996. He lived in Tallahassee and was a regular at a local bar. It was there, where he got the call that his girlfriend was kicking him out of her apartment.
Zack told the bartender, Edith Pope, that he had lost his place to live, and that he was troubled because had witnessed his sister murder their mother with an axe.
“As a result, Pope felt sorry for Zack, and she began to give him odd jobs around the bar,” court documents from one of Zack’s appeals to the Florida Supreme Court read. “When Zack’s girlfriend called the bar on June 4 to advise him that he was being evicted from her apartment, Pope lent Zack her red Honda automobile to pick up his belongings. Zack never returned.”
Zack took off for Panama City, where he again went to a bar and met Bobby Chandler, a construction subcontractor who owned his own business. Zack also told Chandler his tales of hardship.
“When Chandler discovered that Zack was living out of a car (the red Honda), he invited Zack to live with him temporarily,” the court document state. “On the second night at Chandler’s, Zack woke up screaming following a nightmare. Chandler heard Zack groan words which sounded like “stop” or “don’t.” Although Chandler questioned him, Zack would not discuss the nightmare. Two nights later, on June 11, 1996, Zack left Chandler’s during the night, stealing a rifle, a handgun, and $42 from Chandler’s wallet.”
Zack pawned the stolen guns in Niceville the next day for $225.
Michael Zack's crimes turn violent
While in Okaloosa County, he met Laura Rosillo at another bar. They left to hang out at the beach nearby, but when they got there, police say Zack attacked her.
“Once on the beach, Zack attacked Rosillo and beat her while they were still in the Honda,” the court recounted. “He then pulled Rosillo from the car and beat her head against one of the tires. The evidence suggests she was sexually assaulted; however, the sperm found in Rosillo’s body could not be matched to Zack. He then strangled her, dragged her body behind a sand dune, kicked dirt over her face, and departed.”
Scheduled to die: Supreme Court refuses to block execution of man who killed Escambia County woman
Zack then continued west to Escambia County, and near Pensacola stopped at Joe's Dirty Bar where Ravonne Smith worked.
He befriended the friendly, outgoing bartender, too, and after spending hours at the bar with Smith and a friend of hers, she invited him back to her home where she lived with her boyfriend who wasn't home at the time.
“Forensic evidence indicates that immediately upon entering the house, Zack hit Smith with a beer bottle causing shards of glass and blood to spray onto the living room love seat and two drops of blood to spray onto the interior doorframe,” court documents state. “Zack pursued Smith down the hall to the master bedroom leaving a trail of blood. Once in the bedroom Zack sexually assaulted Smith as she lay bleeding on the bed. Following the attack Smith managed to escape to the empty guest bedroom across the hall. Zack pursued her and beat her head against the bedroom’s wooden floor. Once he incapacitated Smith, Zack went to the kitchen where he got an oyster knife. He returned to the guest bedroom where Smith lay and stabbed her in the chest four times with the knife.”
Zack stole Smith’s TV, VCR, and purse before fleeing to Panama City in her car. Prosecutors say he tried to pawn the stolen items, but the store clerk became suspicious and called the police. He ran but was found several days later hiding in an empty house.
Zack received the death penalty for Smith's death in Escambia County. For Rosillo's death, he was given a life sentence.
Unless there's a last-minute stay, Zack will be the sixth person executed in Florida, this year, and the eighth Death Row inmate executed under Governor Ron DeSantis.
The News Journal will have full coverage of Zack’s execution.