By Silas Morgan
Orlando Sentinel
EUSTIS, Fla. — The mother arrested in the horrific ambush that killed a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy was indicted Monday on multiple charges and may face the death penalty.
Julie Ann Sulpizio, 48, was charged by a grand jury with being a principal to the first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, which is punishable by execution. Under Florida law, principals to a crime are people who aided or abetted in its commission and can be punished as if they committed the crime themselves.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, according to a press release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Aug. 2, Sulpizio, who claimed to be inspired by God, attempted to lure several residents of her Eustis neighborhood whom she considered sinners into her family’s home so her husband, Michael, and daughters Cheyenne and Savannah could kill them, as she later admitted to deputies.
She attacked several neighbors at their own homes nearby, choking one and intending that they would follow her back to the Sulpizio home. When the neighbors called deputies, Julie Ann Sulpizio attempted to lure both the neighbors and deputies into her home, police say, but instead she was arrested and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Late, when the deputies went into the Sulpizio home to check on the family, Michael Sulpizio and the daughters opened fire, leading to a standoff before eventually killing themselves. Deputy Bradley Michael Link was killed and deputies Harold Howell and Stefano Gargano were wounded.
In her later interview, Julie Ann made additional disturbing revelations. She told deputies she shot and killed her two dogs because they were vessels for “Lucy,” short for Lucifer, the devil; said she believes her husband is the biblical angel Michael; and claimed God is speaking through her.
Police found conspiracy theory-related materials in the Sulpizio home, they said.
In addition to the murder charge, Julie Ann Sulpizio has also been charged with three counts of being a principal to the attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, conspiracy to commit murder in the first-degree, battery on a law enforcement officer and three counts of battery.
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