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Mark Dean Schwab (December 16, 1968 – July 1, 2008) was an American prisoner in the state of Florida, where he was executed for the April 18, 1991 rape and murder of 11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez, Jr. Schwab was convicted of the crime in 1992 and sentenced to death. In addition, he received two life sentences.
Biography
Early crimes
Schwab had a lengthy history of sexual assaulting young boys.
In one instance, a 14-year old boy - identified only as "Bobby" in most public records - was walking to school one morning when he saw Schwab in a bank parking lot with the hood of his truck raised. Schwab asked Bobby to start the truck while he fiddled with the engine. Bobby got in and started it. Schwab then asked Bobby if he needed a ride to school. Bobby agreed but noticed Schwab drive off in the opposite direction. Before he could complain, Schwab grabbed Bobby’s hair and yanked his head into Schwab’s lap. Then he placed a knife to Bobby’s throat. After subduing his victim, Schwab drove to a remote location where he sexually assaulted Bobby.
Another boy, known only as "Joey", also 14, accepted a ride home from a party with Schwab. Schwab took the teen to a secluded area, put a knife to his throat, and attempted to rape him. When Joey resisted, Schwab offered him $ 1,000 to let him complete the act. Still struggling with his assailant, Joey was able to open the door and jump out of the truck. He didn’t report the attempted rape until later.
Yet another boy, a thirteen-year-old known only as "Marty", met Schwab at the Brevard County Humane Society where Marty had taken a dog. Schwab adopted the animal and befriended the boy and his parents. Several weeks later Schwab told Marty that he had a job painting a house and offered to pay Marty $ 200 if he would help. Marty agreed and they went to the house. Once there, Schwab pulled a knife on Marty, forced him inside, and spent several hours assaulting him. Afterwards, he let the teen go after warning him not to tell anyone. Marty and his parents went to the police and Schwab was arrested. He quickly confessed.
Four mental health professionals evaluated Schwab while he was in prison. Three of the four were convinced that he was a pedophile and sexual sadist. The other, a psychologist, diagnosed him as having an anti-social personality and being “a mentally disordered sex offender.”
The murder
Schwab was released from prison on March 4, 1991, after serving three years of an eight-year sentence. The rest of his sentence was commuted and he was placed on 15 years of probation.
A month later, Cocoa resident Junny Rios-Martinez, Jr. went missing. Schwab had seen Junny's picture in the March 21, 1991 edition of Florida Today. He became friendly with the boy and his family, introducing himself as an associate of Malcom Denemark from that newspaper. After getting to know Junny, Schwab exploited his interest in surfing by saying he had left Florida Today for a job at a surfing magazine. On April 18, 1991, Junny was spotted getting into a U-Haul truck.
On April 20, 1991, Schwab called his aunt in Ohio, claiming a man named "Donald" forced him to kidnap and rape Junny, under threat of killing Junny's mother, Vicki. The next day, police tapped a phone call with Schwab's aunt's permission, and determined Schwab's location. Schwab was arrested, and led police to Junny's dead body, found in Canaveral Groves, a rural area of Brevard County, Florida in a footlocker that was "nearly shut" covered in palm fronds, debris, and wrapped in rope.
Aftermath
On May 15, 1991, Schwab appeared in a state court in Brevard County, pleading not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping a child under age 13 and sexual assault of a child under age 13. Prosecutors sought the death penalty. Schwab waived his right to a jury trial, and was convicted on May 22, 1992. At trial, witnesses had testified that Schwab was raped at gunpoint by a friend's father as a child.
On July 1, 1992, he was sentenced to death for the murder, and given two life sentences for the kidnapping and sexual battery of a child under the age of 13. In addition, his probation was revoked on the previous rape conviction, and he was re-sentenced to an additional life sentence, giving him a total of three life sentences.
The case led to the passage of the Junny Rios-Martinez, Jr., Act of 1992, which prohibited those convicted of sexual battery from receiving early release in the state of Florida.
Schwab was executed by lethal injection on July 1, 2008, and pronounced dead at 6:15 pm. He declined to make a last statement.