A Florida woman — who violently murdered her elderly roommate and then doused herself in Diet Mountain Dew soda in a last-ditch effort to tamper with evidence — learned that she would spend decades behind bars.
On Thursday, Volusia County Circuit Court Judge Leah R. Case ordered 37-year-old Nichole Maks to serve a sentence of 35 years in a state correctional facility.
The detective reportedly noticed that Maks appeared to have blood on her leg and on her ripped shirt.
In July 2023, Maks was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of resisting arrest with violence. Maks pleaded no contest to the lesser crime of second-degree murder, as well as resisting with violence, arson of a dwelling, and tampering with physical evidence.
Maks’ public defenders argued that she had been sexually abused and sex trafficked throughout her lifetime, dating back to when she was a teen.
Judge Case noted, “We can’t lose sight of the fact that she murdered somebody. She knew what she was doing.”
“I do feel like, but for her mental health, this would not have happened and her traumatic upbringing,” Case said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The abuse that she has suffered at the hands of (like the prosecutor said) most males she’s ever come in contact with, has been horrendous.”
Maks was facing a maximum sentence of 75 years, but the 35-year sentence was the least amount of prison time she could receive, according to the terms of a plea agreement.
Police said Maks used a knife and a hammer to kill her roommate — 79-year-old Michael Cerasoli — inside a Daytona Beach home around 1:45 a.m. on July 1, 2023. Police said Maks also set the second floor of the residence on fire.
Police reportedly recovered a bloody knife near the victim’s body and two cell phones at the crime scene.
Law & Crime reported that a detective spotted a shoeless Maks near a restaurant, and she “dropped a knife and a hammer” in his presence when she was confronted.
The detective reportedly noticed that Maks appeared to have blood on her leg and on her ripped shirt.
Maks told the detective that she had been homeless for the last four years, according to court documents.
When the officer showed her a photo of Cerasoli, Maks reportedly “denied knowing the victim.”
After being pressed by investigators, Maks allegedly admitted that she had lived with the man for a short time but claimed that she had only seen him “a handful of times.” She also allegedly denied seeing him on the day he was murdered. Police said Maks later confessed that she was not homeless and had been living with Cerasoli and that she had been at the house earlier.
While being taken into custody, police informed Maks that they were going to take DNA samples from her.
Maks then asked for a drink and was given a can of Diet Mountain Dew, court docs say.
Maks then allegedly doused Diet Mountain Dew soda all over her body.
“Maks began to procrastinate while drinking the soft drink then … [a detective] attempted to grab the can of soda from Maks’ hands,” a probable cause affidavit stated. “Maks began to resist and began pouring the can of soda all over her body and hair and pulling away from officers in attempts to interfere with the possible evidence on Maks’ body. Maks then began pulling and kicking officers while trying to secure Maks in the vehicle. Due to Maks’ actions, she was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest with violence.”
Police said the DNA from blood on the knife found next to the victim matched the sample taken from Maks.
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Florida crime, Florida, Stabbing, Murder, Weird news, Odd news, Strange news, Crime
