FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erin Maloney, Communications Director
Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
(813) 557-3366 | Erin.Maloney@sao13th.com
Jury Convicts Hillsborough County Man in 2010 Double Murder
Defendant shot six victims, killing two and badly injuring four
TAMPA, FL (March 28, 2023) — After a three-week long trial in Hillsborough County, Florida, a jury determined that Defendant Michael Keetley is guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder following a 2010 shooting in Ruskin.
Michael Keetley shot six people on Thanksgiving Day in 2010, killing two of them. Investigators learned that Keetley, a neighborhood ice cream man, was shot and robbed months before the killings. Frustrated that police had not found the men responsible for the robbery, Keetley shot six men at a home where he believed the perpetrators lived. Two of the victims died while four were badly injured.
This is not the first time Keetley faced a jury in the courtroom on these charges. In 2020, a jury was unable to decide on a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial. The jury in this case deliberated more than 12 hours over a span of three days.
“I am proud of our talented prosecutors for seeing this difficult case to the end in honor of the victims of this heinous killer. We appreciate the jury for their time, attention, and dedication to this complicated case. We hope this verdict provides a level of peace and closure for the families who have had to live through this nightmare for the last 12 years,” said State Attorney Suzy Lopez.
Keetley will be sentenced May 26th in a Hillsborough County courtroom. The first-degree murder charges carry mandatory life sentences for the defendant.
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