NCIS, ECSO Arrest Cantonment Man For 2001 Murder Of His Wife In Local Winn Dixie Parking Lot
March 7, 2020
FOR AN UPDATE TO THIS STORY, CLICK HERE.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Cantonment man Friday night for the murder of his wife found dead in the parking lot of the Cantonment Winn Dixie in 2001.
Navy civilian employee Greg Malarik, age 57 of Riddle Road, is charged with the murder of Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Sherri Malarik, on September 22, 2001. Malarik, a former Navy Petty Officer 1st Class, is employed by the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Sherri Malarik was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head inside her van at the Winn Dixie on Highway 29 in Cantonment.
Efforts by the NCIS Southeast Field Office, the NCIS Cold Case Homicide Unit, and ECSO to analyze the crime scene, witness interviews, and other items of evidentiary value resulted in the determination that Mr. Malarik unlawfully killed Ms. Malarik by shooting her in the head with a handgun while seated in the front passenger seat of the van.
“This nearly 20-year-old investigation demonstrates NCIS’ relentless pursuit of truth and justice,” NCIS Southeast Field Office Special Agent in Charge Thomas Cannizzo said Friday night.
“We are enormously grateful to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, and the State Attorney’s Office for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida for their help in bringing resolution to this heinous crime. We hope this brings peace and closure to Ms. Malarik’s loved ones.”
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case investigators, the NCIS Cold Case Homicide Unit, and members of the State Attorney’s Office we are now able to close this case,” said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. “We continuously work on these cases year after year, no matter how much time passes. We hope to continue to keep closing cold cases like this one and giving families the closure they deserve.”
Santa Rosa County Coronavirus Patient Being Treated In Escambia Has Died
March 7, 2020
A previously announced coronavirus patient from Santa Rosa County has died, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The patient was being treated at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. He was 71, had underlying medical conditions and had traveled to the Dominican Republic
The health department will not release the man’s name, nor have they released any information about where he was from in Santa Rosa County, where he has traveled or who he may have come in contact with, because of privacy laws.
Baptist Hospital officials have said that due to their isolation procedures, there is no risk to other hospital patients, staff or visitors.
A new individual in their 70s that tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 in Lee County has also died, following an international trip, the Florida Department of Health said Friday. Three other new presumptive cases — two in Broward County and one in Lee County — have been reported in Florida.
Time Change: Spring Forward. And Don’t Forget The Smoke Alarm Batteries.
March 7, 2020
Don’t forget to “spring forward” and set your clocks ahead one hour before heading off to bed Saturday night. Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, making use of longer summer days, allowing people to rise early and spend more of the day working or playing.
It’s also a good time to remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarm.
Molino Park Elementary Holds Annual Arts Day (Photo Gallery)
March 7, 2020
Molino Park Elementary School recently held their annual Arts Day with multiple performers.
Musical performers included individuals from the Pensacola Children’s Choir, Kaye’ Music, Schmidt’s Musi, West Florida High School Colorguard, Pensacola Symphony, and The Heavenly Brass Trio. Artists included Sara Bouldin, Dale Cooey, Larry Manning, Ruth Gordon, Robert McBrooms, Henritta Adams and Molino Park’s very own Matt Brabham.
The day concluded with dancers from the Heather Leonard’s Danceworks “Raising the Barre” Performance Team.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Home Off Nine Mile Road Destroyed By Fire
March 7, 2020
Fire destroyed a home Friday afternoon south of Nine Mile Road in Escambia County.
Firefighters arrived at the home in the 1400 block of Camrose Place to find a fire in the attic and breaking through the roof in the rear of the home.
Escambia Fire Rescue personnel attempted an offensive attic, but ultimately personnel were pulled out of the structure for a defensive attack, according to Escambia County. The home was a total loss, but ECFR was able to minimize damage to the adjacent residential structures that were severely threatened.
Smoke alarms did alert the occupants, who were not injured. The American Red Cross is assisting the property owner.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ensley Chiefs Football, Cheerleading Registration Today
March 7, 2020
Registration is underway for football and cheerleading for the Ensley Chiefs.
Registration will be held Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m. until noon at the Ensley Youth Sports Association at the J.R. Jones Athletic Park on Nine Mile Road
Sentenced To Death Twice Before, Escambia Man Will Now Serve Life In Prison For 1998 Nine Mile Popeyes Murder
March 7, 2020
An Escambia County man that has been sentenced to death twice won’t be going back to death row but was instead sentenced to life without parole on Friday.
Timothy Hurst, was sent to death death row for a 1998 murder in Pensacola, has been at the center of major Supreme Court rulings that found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system unconstitutional.
Hurst was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of fast-food worker Cynthia Harrison in Pensacola. Harrison, an assistant manager at a Nine Mile Road Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant where Hurst worked, was bound, gagged and stabbed more than 60 times. Her body was found in a freezer.
The jury that first convicted him voted 7-5 in favor of death but was later tossed out after the courts ruled a death sentence must be unanimous.
A jury was impaneled for a two-week resentencing hearing, but failed Friday reach a unanimous decision for the death penalty. Hurst was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Weekend Sunshine, Cool Nights
March 7, 2020
Here is your official North Escambia are forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 57. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 77.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Families Of Teens Killed In Cantonment Wreck Filing Suit After Their Bodies Were Allegedly Switched
March 6, 2020
The families of two teens killed in car crash last year in Cantonment are filing suit, claiming their bodies were switched and misidentified from the crash scene to their funeral homes.
The Florida Highway Patrol said following the July 2019 crash that Dalchunique S. Lavender, age 20 of Cantonment, was northbound on Highway 95A at Coweta Road, just south of McKenzie Road, when her 2007 Ford Focus left the roadway and struck a utility pole about 1:20 a.m. The vehicle wrapped around the pole and came to rest between Highway 95A and adjacent railroad tracks.
Two of her passengers, 15-year old Samara Cooks and 18-year old Deleigha T. Gibson, both of Cantonment, were pronounced deceased on the scene. Lavender and passenger Alexandria R. Banks, 18, were critically injured.
The families of Cooks and Gibson are filing suit against the “Florida Highway Patrol, the Pensacola District Commander, Escambia County Coroner, Escambia County Medical Examiner’s Office and the funeral homes who handled the teens’ funeral arrangements after it was revealed that they were misidentified at the crash scene,” according to Ryan Julison of The Cochran Firm.
Julison said in an emailed statement Thursday night:
“According to the complaints, even though Gibson and Cooks were different ages, heights and weights, FHP troopers misidentified their bodies at the scene of the crash which led to Gibson being labeled as Cooks and vice-versa. This switch led to a series of other incidents involving the Coroner, Medical Examiner and funeral homes.
“The complaints allege that when the Medical Examiner received the bodies, it did not properly verify the identity of the bodies and as a result, the bodies remained incorrectly labeled. Despite their attempts, neither family was allowed to view their respective daughters’ bodies at the Medical Examiner’s office with the ME citing it was ‘not their policy’ to allow for the viewing.
“The Medical Examiner then released the wrong bodies to the wrong funeral homes who then embalmed the wrong bodies without authorization and in a way that was unsatisfactory to both families.
“Upon arriving at Faith Chapel, the funeral home hired by the Cooks family to prepare Samara Cooks’ body, they discovered that the body being prepared was actually that of Deleigha Gibson. One of the Cooks’ family members arrived at Tracy Morton Funeral Home, where the Gibson family was waiting, and stated that the funeral home had the wrong body. When the Gibson family overheard this conversation, they demanded to see Deleigha’s body and it was only then that the funeral home confirmed that they actually had the body of Samara Cooks, who was still tagged as Deleigha Gibson.
“To add an unprecedented layer to this horrific tragedy, Deleigha Gibson was an organ donor and because her body was misidentified, Gibson’s body was not properly handled and her organs were not preserved. Conversely, upon information and belief, Samara Cooks, who was not an organ donor, had her organs harvested without parental consent.
“The families of Gibson and Cooks are demanding that Florida Highway Patrol, Pensacola District Commander, Escambia Coroner, and Escambia Medical Examiner change their respective policies and procedures to ensure that this doesn’t happen to another family.”
Attorney Jessica Givens of The Cochran Firm is representing the family of Gibson, and Attorney Artie Shimek of Shimek Law is representing the Cooks family.
Pictured: A tragic wreck claimed two lives and injured two others in Cottage Hill early Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Sunshine, North Winds For Friday
March 6, 2020
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 63. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 35. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 62. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming east after midnight.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. South wind around 5 mph becoming east after midnight.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.