June 7, 2007
Gay Cop Killer May Get Death in Florida
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
A gay man from Fort Lauderdale may be the first to receive the death penalty in Florida since the re-institution by Congress of capitol punishment in 1998.
According to a story posted Wednesday on 365Gay.com, Kenneth Wilk was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2004 shooting of Broward County Sheriff's deputy Todd Fatta during a raid on Wilk's home. A second deputy was also wounded during the raid, the object of which was to search for child pornography.
The wounding of the second deputy, Sgt. Angelo Cedeno, resulted in a conviction for attempted murder. Wilk was also found guilty on charges of possession of child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Wilk's defense attorney, Bill Matthewman, argued that Wilk was suffering from AIDS-related dementia at the time of the shootings, and Wilk testified that he had mistaken the deputies for intruders. However, prosecutor John Kastrenakes cited Wilk's online profile, in which he counted "hunting cops" among his hobbies, as proof that Wilk targeted the men for being law enforcement officers. Kastrenakes argued that Wilk, anticipating a police search of his home for child pornography, supplied himself with firearms in advance.
Though Wilk has been convicted, the sentencing phase of the trial was not scheduled to begin until today.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
