‘The system failed Zephen’: Doctor, therapist, school officials take stand in bank shooter sentencing trial
SEBRING, Fla. (WFLA) — Day 8 of Zephen Xaver’s sentencing trial saw testimony from the adults in his life who were concerned about his mental health when he was a teenager in Indiana.
The 27-year-old pleaded guilty last year to the murders of five women at Sun Trust Bank in Sebring in 2019.
“He’d had some homicidal and suicidal ideation that included hanging himself,” said Dr. Tod Stillson, Xaver’s pediatrician.
Dr. Stillson testified about the numerous prescriptions he wrote for Xaver for anxiety, depression and sleep.
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He said a head injury Xaver sustained while playing football resulted in changes to both cognitive and psychological functions involving his mood and behaviors.
“Was it your recommendation and your request that Zephen be engaged in inpatient residential care?” Xaver’s defense attorney Jane McNeill asked.
“Yes it was,” said Dr. Stillson.
Stillson also testified he had very engaged parents.
“Their compliance with recommendations and their commitment to helping their son get better was consistent throughout,” he said.
While Xaver was a patient of Dr. Stillson’s, he also was seeing a therapist named Patrick O’Connell.
During a particularly difficult time between 2013 and 2014, O’Connell would have sessions with Xaver at school.
He testified Xaver expressed fear he was going to hurt someone.
“He was very scared of his thoughts and of his emotions. He felt like he was kind of losing control of his thoughts and emotions,” said O’Connell.
His high school nurse, Dawn Campbell, recalled Xaver visiting her office nearly two dozen times between February 2013 and February 2014.
Many times he would go there to complain about being tired from the medications he was taking.
On Feb. 20, 2014, he told the nurse about a dream he had while taking a nap in her office.
“He broke people’s necks and killed them. He then described tying other students up with rope and made them watch while he broke bones of other students and cut off their fingers,” said Campbell while reading off a note written during that time.
She said he said there were a lot of people he did not like, but he did not want them dead.
“Although he said he would be OK if his dad was dead,” Campbell testified.
After he told Campbell about that dream, she contacted the school guidance counselor and the principal.
Melissa Manges, the school guidance counselor, also testified on Wednesday.
“In my opinion, the system failed Zephen,” said Manges.
Manges testified Xaver went to her office a lot for anxiety, panic attacks and “a lot of mental health issues.”
She said she felt Xaver was left to fend for himself.
From her perspective, Xaver was not getting along with his father and his mother wanted to help but did not know how.
She said Xaver talked to her about dark thoughts and voices that scared him.
“He would say I just want them to stop or make them go away. I don’t want to do these things. I don’t want to be this way,” said Manges.
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Manges was involved in having Xaver removed from school for other students’ safety.
“Your fear was based on his dream where he barricaded the door or doors and then he killed the people in that room?” prosecutor Bonde Johnson asked.
“Uh huh,” replied Manges.
“And you know that five years later that’s exactly what he did?” asked Johnson.
“I do know that,” replied Manges.
The day began with a debate over an investigation into juror misconduct allegations.
The state attorney’s office said it was notified about texts sent between a juror and a friend about them being on the jury.
The defense moved for a mistrial, calling it a “secret investigation” that should have been conducted by the court.
The judge determined the behavior did not rise to the level of juror misconduct and dismissed the motion.
Due to medical issues involving two of the jurors, there are no remaining alternate jurors in the case.
The defense will continue presenting evidence Thursday.
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