CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Prosecutors filed a motion declaring their intent to seek the death penalty against two defendants in a 2022 homicide.
Andrew Smith and Melissa Dymond-Demetrowitz are charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence.
According to the indictment, between September 8 and September 13 of 2022, Smith and Dymond-Demetrowitz conspired to murder Shawn Patrick Armstrong of Charlotte County.
Armstrong was shot to death on or about September 13. The indictment says he was lured into a wooded area in Southern Charlotte County.
After he was killed, Armstrong's body was placed in his own vehicle. The suspects then allegedly drove his body to Lee County and hid it beneath palm fronds in another wooded area.
The defendants were stopped by law enforcement while driving the victim's vehicle.
Andrew Smith is accused of purchasing the firearm used to commit the murder.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is investigating, along with assistance from the Punta Gorda Police Department and Lee County Sheriff's Office.
