424:, dismissed these accusations. Although there was no physical evidence at the scene to link Nelson Serrano to the crime, relatives of the victims immediately suspected Nelson Serrano, a former partner and CEO of the business. They had been in a bitter dispute with the others over his partners' removal of $ 1 million without his knowledge. However, millions of dollars were removed from corporate bank accounts after Serrano left the company, and only Dosso and Gonsalves had access to them. The money's whereabouts were never presented during the trial and remain unknown.
669:. In 1971, he renounced his Ecuadorian citizenship to obtain his United States citizenship. Serrano was kidnapped in Ecuador by Florida-hired off-duty police officers and then, according to the Ecuadorian government and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (a division of the Organization of American States), illegally deported back to Florida for his murder trial. Documents concerning this issue were presented during the trial and were confirmed by the Ecuadorian
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main entrance to Erie and a young Latin man in the building looking out of the glass at or around the time investigators estimate the murders occurred. The victims were found in an office about 50 feet from the main entrance, suggesting that others were also involved. He also stated that a
Lincoln or Cadillac was parked outside. The new attorneys for Serrano, headed by attorney
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were two sets of books. Serrano instituted a civil suit against his partners. Ultimately, Serrano was removed as president by a vote of the other two partners, and
Serrano left the companies. After that, the locks were changed on the building. Shortly before Serrano was ousted as CEO, Phil Dosso and George Gonsalves had fired Serrano's son, Francisco.
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dated 3:49 p.m. on Dec. 3, about two hours before the slayings occurred. Prosecutors felt that piece of evidence broke his alibi. However, the state's fingerprint expert stated the fingerprint was suspicious because of how it was found, because the print was from
Serrano's right hand (a driver
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with a different bank. He deposited two checks totaling over $ 200,000 from Erie's sister company
Garment Conveyor Systems, as requested by corporate counsel to keep monies safe from Dosso and Gonsalves. There were disagreements about the distribution of assets and accusations by Serrano that there
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In a court hearing in
September 2013, Prosecutors admitted to withholding from defense counsel the testimony of the only eyewitness to the murder scene, John Purvis. Purvis stated that he witnessed an Asian young man ("one of those slanty-eyed people") between the ages of 25 and 30 outside of the
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Numerous Erie employees testified to the strained relations between
Serrano and the other two partners, particularly Serrano's dislike of Gonsalves. Serrano made statements indicating that he wished Gonsalves were deceased. Another Erie employee testified that, weeks before the murders, a plant
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had also uncovered that prosecutors withheld from trial defense attorneys the fact that an extradition process had already begun one week before
Serrano's illegal deportation and state attorney Paul Wallace traveled to Ecuador, misled government officials to seek
477:. Paul Wallace, as co-prosecutor during the trial, withheld this information from the court and jury. Nelson's defense discovered that the Florida prosecutor and police concealed a third weapon used in the crime, a rifle for exclusive military use.
409:. Diane Patisso, a young state prosecutor, had gone to pick up her brother Frank and her husband George at the factory that evening, and prosecutors say she was murdered to prevent her from identifying the killer.
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Judge
Roberts denied a defense motion for a change of venue, although one of the victims, Diane Dosso Patisso, was an Assistant State Attorney for Polk County. The judge hid this information from the jury.
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through his testimony. Judge
Roberts, unaware that an extradition process was started and thwarted by state attorney Wallace, denied the defense motion, finding no cause to dismiss the case.
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Phil Dosso calls 911 to report discovering the dead bodies of his son, Frank Dosso, his daughter, Diane
Patisso, her husband, George Patisso, and his other business partner, George Gonsalves
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Witness John Purvis, working at a nearby company, notices a man dressed in a suit standing on the sidewalk outside Erie Manufacturing. Purvis notes the man did not appear to have a car.
741:, this was confirmed by Óscar Vela, his lawyer, on his X account the next day, where he expressed that he was finally free and that all that remained was to fight for his innocence.
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flight attendant who witnessed Serrano bleeding from the head with several bruises refused entry to the Florida officials, but the flight Captain allowed them to board.
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that kept him bedridden and on the verge of unconsciousness. He finally died after several days, on the night of August 7, 2024, at the Jacksonville Hospital, in
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by appearing on the security video cameras of his hotel. Prosecutors stated that Serrano had tricked his nephew into providing him with a rental car (under a
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Authorities said both Serrano men had the motive to commit the murders, but Francisco Serrano provided an alibi. His father told authorities he was in an
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Maria Dosso calls her husband, Frank Dosso, son of Serrano's former partner Phil Dosso, at Erie Manufacturing and Garment Conveyor Systems in Bartow.
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said Serrano was angry because Gonsalves and Felice "Phil" Dosso, the third partner in the business, had ousted him and his son from both companies.
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for each of these crimes. Serrano's conviction is controversial, and his culpability has been disputed. He died of natural causes in 2024.
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is more likely to take the ticket from the machine with his left hand) and because there were no other prints or smudges on the ticket.
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for Serrano in October 2006 after he was convicted of the murders. On June 26, 2007, Judge Susan Roberts sentenced him to
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Serrano claimed that he was on a business trip, 500 miles away in Atlanta, when the killings occurred. However, the
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Serrano's son, who had also worked at the Bartow plant, claimed that his father was innocent and has set up a
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all day, so no one saw him or talked to him. But, almost three years later, law enforcement agents found his
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after his arrest in Ecuador. Police say Serrano suffered a minor fall injury as he boarded the airliner. An
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-George-Diane-Patisso-and-Frank-Dosso-Memorial-Foundation/114728435263755
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Ecuadorian officials, seeking his return to that country, claimed Serrano had been beaten and kept in a
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On December 3, 1997, Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves were found shot
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Passenger John White, an alias allegedly used by Serrano, checks in at Tampa International Airport.
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traffic. Prosecutors and investigators did not find any videos from either airport showing Serrano.
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from Ecuador to the United States. Serrano was an Ecuadorian citizen by birth and in 1971 became a
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employee came to work with a gun and threatened to kill George. He was calmed down and sent home.
365:(September 15, 1938 – August 8, 2024) was an Ecuadorian-American businessman who was convicted of
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Diane Patisso leaves Bartow courthouse and heads to the office, approximately five minutes away.
516:, evidence was not shown to prove this trip positively and that murders could be possible during
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Allegedly using his son's name, Juan Agacio, Serrano boards Delta Flight 1807 bound for Orlando
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Parking garage ticket from Orlando International Airport with Serrano's fingerprint is stamped
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Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves in the town of
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His son, Francisco Serrano, announced in July 2024 that Nelson suffered from a
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The families of the victims have set up a memorial foundation in their honor.
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Nelson Serrano is captured on La Quinta Hotel's surveillance video in Atlanta
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830:"Nelson Serrano, ecuatoriano condenado a muerte en Estados Unidos, falleció"
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Serrano is captured on the surveillance video La Quinta Hotel in Atlanta
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Maria Dosso, expecting her husband to arrive at 5:30, calls the office.
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During the summer of 1997, Nelson Serrano opened a separate business
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Erie employee Karen Stevens clocks out along with David Catalan.
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771:"Inmate Population Information Detail - Nelson Serrano"
86:. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are
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148:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
657:During the trial, Serrano's lawyers fought for a
751:List of death row inmates in the United States
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53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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627:First police officer arrives at the scene
405:-style at the Erie Manufacturing plant in
381:pronounced him guilty and recommended the
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920:Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States
226:Learn how and when to remove this message
208:Learn how and when to remove this message
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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82:Relevant discussion may be found on the
950:Prisoners sentenced to death by Florida
935:Ecuadorian prisoners sentenced to death
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412:Dosso and Gonsalves accused Serrano of
16:American convicted murderer (1938–2024)
661:, claiming that Serrano was illegally
635:Flight leaves Tampa bound for Atlanta
940:People convicted of murder by Florida
930:Ecuadorian people convicted of murder
905:American prisoners sentenced to death
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885:20th-century American businesspeople
146:adding citations to reliable sources
900:American people convicted of murder
555:Delta Flight 1807 lands in Orlando
473:obstructing the federal process of
420:, but investigators, including the
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880:1997 murders in the United States
775:Florida Department of Corrections
34:This article has multiple issues.
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42:or discuss these issues on the
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832:. El Comercio. August 8, 2024
457:Orlando International Airport
667:naturalized American citizen
910:Businesspeople from Florida
890:20th-century businesspeople
377:, on December 3, 1997. The
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643:Flight arrives in Atlanta
488:that Serrano had flown by
340:Murder in the first degree
925:Ecuadorian mass murderers
915:Ecuadorian businesspeople
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363:Nelson Iván Serrano Sáenz
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529:: Timeline of the crime
895:American mass murderers
711:maximum security prison
737:, United States, of a
600:5:50 to 6:15 p.m.
296:Jacksonville, Florida
498:premeditated murders
486:12-member trial jury
375:Polk County, Florida
142:improve this article
75:factual accuracy is
796:"To Catch a Killer"
527:Florida vs. Serrano
254:Mug shot of Serrano
680:at the airport in
447:hotel room with a
270:September 15, 1938
945:People from Quito
686:American Airlines
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290:(2024-08-08)
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140:Please help
135:verification
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96:January 2023
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36:Please help
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875:2024 deaths
870:1938 births
731:brain tumor
482:prosecutors
475:extradition
471:deportation
453:fingerprint
434:Prosecutors
307:Businessman
198:August 2024
864:Categories
836:August 10,
780:January 8,
757:References
678:dog kennel
397:Background
304:Occupation
266:1938-09-15
168:newspapers
39:improve it
707:death row
671:Ombudsman
518:rush hour
506:pseudonym
466:Roy Black
403:execution
367:murdering
323:Francisco
84:talk page
45:talk page
801:CBS News
745:See also
700:web site
663:deported
659:mistrial
490:airliner
320:Children
315:Deceased
77:disputed
735:Florida
514:Orlando
445:Atlanta
416:, then
278:Ecuador
182:scholar
407:Bartow
371:Bartow
298:, U.S.
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725:Death
682:Quito
510:Tampa
502:alibi
418:theft
414:graft
387:death
351:Death
274:Quito
189:JSTOR
175:books
838:2024
782:2021
512:and
379:jury
285:Died
260:Born
161:news
717:in
422:FBI
389:by
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