Life In Prison For Fla. Man Who Killed Adjuster
NU Online News Service, March 24, 3:58 p.m. EST?The confessed killer of a 25-year-old Florida claims adjuster has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and been sentenced to life in prison.[@@]
Jason Funk, 27, an unemployed motorcycle mechanic, admitted to murdering Katrina Froeschle inside a Tampa house where she was assessing hurricane damage last November.
The guilty plea, in Hillsborough County, Fla., Circuit Court, allows Mr. Funk to avoid trial, originally scheduled to start next Monday, and a possible death sentence. His life sentence, under Florida law, has no possibility of parole.
In addition to admitting to Ms. Froeschle's murder, Mr. Funk also pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery, burglary of a car, manufacturing marijuana and tampering with evidence.
"The important thing we wanted is for the person who murdered our daughter to be off the streets," Ms. Froeschle's father, Jeffrey Froeschle, stated after sentence was pronounced. "We didn't see any additional gain to having him executed."
Rade Musulin, spokesperson for Florida Farm Bureau where Ms. Froeschle worked, told National Underwriter: "This was a horrible crime. We certainly wanted justice to be served, and it appears that has happened. We have always placed a very high emphasis on the safety of our employees. We have taken a look at every one of our internal procedures since this occurred."
Ms. Froeschle was slain while working as an adjuster for Gainesville, Fla.-based Florida Farm Bureau. On Nov. 12, 2004, Ms. Froeschle went to a Tampa house to assess hurricane roof damage. Once she was inside, Mr. Funk, who had been renting the place, bludgeoned her with a motorcycle muffler pipe and then threw her body into the Hillsborough River, according to the police.
Ms. Froeschle was described as an intelligent young woman who attended college on a Bright Futures Scholarship and had dreams of eventually becoming a veterinarian, according to her family and friends who spoke after the sentence was announced. Ms. Froeschle's online memorial site is at www.gunterfuneralhome.com/guestbooks/9504-975.html
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