Man Scheduled for Lethal Injection After 25 Years for Grisly Crimes in North Florida Bars
In a chilling turn of events, Michael Zack III is set to face the death penalty on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for his heinous crimes committed over two decades ago. These crimes involved the brutal murders of two women he met at bars in North Florida during a harrowing crime spree.
Victims and Crimes
Zack’s violent journey began in June 1996, with the murder of Ravonne Smith, a bar employee who had befriended him. He subjected her to a horrifying ordeal, beating and fatally stabbing her with an oyster knife. In a separate case, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Laura Rosillo, another woman he encountered at a different bar in a nearby county.
The Start of the Nightmare
The grim saga started when Zack found himself facing eviction from his home in Tallahassee. A bartender, seemingly offering a helping hand, loaned him her pickup truck. However, Zack disappeared with the truck and never returned it, as per court records.
From Bad to Worse
Heading to a bar in Niceville, located in the Florida Panhandle, Zack struck up a friendship with a construction company owner who learned about Zack’s predicament. Offering shelter, the man allowed Zack to stay at his home. In a shocking twist, Zack ended up stealing two guns and $42 from his host, later pawning the firearms.
A Trail of Terror
Zack’s path of destruction continued at yet another bar, where he met Laura Rosillo. After inviting her to the beach under the pretense of doing drugs, he mercilessly beat her, strangled her, and left her for dead in the sand dunes.
A Fateful Meeting
The following day, Zack encountered Ravonne Smith at a Pensacola bar. Their evening began with marijuana but took a nightmarish turn when Smith took him to her home. There, Zack subjected her to a horrific ordeal—beating, rape, and a gruesome stabbing with an oyster knife. He then callously stole her belongings, including a television, VCR, and purse, which he tried to pawn. Suspicion at the pawn shop led to Zack’s escape and subsequent hiding in an abandoned house for two days before his arrest, according to court records.
Zack’s Confession and Legal Battles
Now 54 years old, Michael Zack has admitted to the murder of Ravonne Smith. He claims that his rage was triggered by a comment Smith made about his mother’s murder, an act committed by his own sister. Zack asserted that he believed Smith was retrieving a gun, leading to the fatal stabbing as an act of self-defense.
Legal Appeals Denied
Despite his lawyers’ efforts to halt the execution, arguing that Zack suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Zack’s appeal for a stay of execution without comment on Monday afternoon.
The Bigger Picture
Zack’s impending execution marks the eighth under the tenure of Governor Ron DeSantis since 2019, with six occurring this year, following a hiatus in executions from 2020 through 2022. Governor DeSantis has made the implementation of stricter and broader death penalty laws a prominent issue in his presidential campaign.