27 January 2026 :

January 22, 2026 - Florida. Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Dwight Eaglin

For Murder of Correctional Officer and Inmate

A jury in Charlotte County recommended death for defendant Dwight Eaglin, for the murder of Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem and for the murder of inmate Charlie Fuston.

The defendant was sentenced to death in 2006 for the murders but following a change in Florida’s current death penalty law, his lawyers challenged his sentence, and he was granted a new penalty phase trial.

The defendant murdered Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem and inmate Charlie Fuston in 2003, during an escape attempt from the Charlotte Correctional Institution. They were both beaten to death with hammers. Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem was supervising a work crew at night when she was lured away and murdered.

The jury voted as follows:
Count I: The murder of Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem – The jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1.
Count II: The murder of Charlie Fuston – The jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.

A Spencer Hearing is set for March 20th. Sentencing is scheduled for March 27th.

At the time of these murders, the defendant was serving a life sentence for cutting the throat of a man, and stabbing him to death, outside of a club in Pinellas County in 1998.

https://sao20.org/news-releases/jury-recommends-death-penalty-for-murder-of-correctional-officer-and-inmate/
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2026/01/22/death-sentence-recommended-former-boxer-dwight-eaglin/