A Central Florida man in a love triangle stabbed a victim in the head and torso multiple times before dumping the body.
After a three-day trial last week, a Volusia County jury found defendant Marvin Bryant guilty as charged of First-Degree Murder. Immediately following the verdict, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison.
On August 12, 2020, a dead body was found in Geneva, east of Sanford. Once the victim was identified, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office initial investigation led detectives to Volusia County.
Bryant’s co-defendant had dated the victim on and off for several years. She was the last one seen with him on August 9, 2020, in Sanford.
On August 10, 2020, Bryant’s co-defendant drove the victim to the house in Deltona where she and Bryant lived. Bryant stabbed the victim multiple times in the head and torso before the two dumped the victim’s body in Geneva.
Seminole and Volusia Sheriff’s Office detectives uncovered an extensive amount of important digital and forensic evidence during a four-month joint investigation.
A search warrant was executed on the car that Bryant was renting and his co-defendant was driving on the day of the murder. Blood samples taken from the backseat were tested and a positive match to the victim’s DNA was made by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
It was also apparent that they had cleaned up the rental vehicle and their house in an attempt to destroy evidence.
“Love triangles never turn out good. This one turned deadly,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case.
The case was investigated by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorneys Andrew Urbanak and Michele Simonsen successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Kathleen McNeilly presided over the case and pronounced sentence.
