Stephens Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Killing of His Wife

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that Marco Stephens was found guilty by a jury of First-Degree Murder. He now faces a mandatory sentence of life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Meredith Charbula will a schedule a sentencing hearing for Stephens the week of Jan. 3, 2022.

On Oct. 6, 2018, Stephens killed his wife by shooting her multiple times with a semiautomatic handgun outside an apartment complex on Jacksonville’s Westside. Her car then went missing and surveillance footage showed Stephens enter the vehicle and drive away at a high rate of speed. Stephens drove the car to Pasco County, where he approached an officer and turned himself in while stating he killed his wife. The day before the murder, Stephens called a friend and said he was going to kill the victim — he called again after he committed the crime and admitted he had shot her several times. The handgun Stephens used to commit the murder was in the front passenger seat of the car he drove to Pasco County.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Korey Milo and Brooke Gasson.