Prosecutors are seeking death penalty against woman charged in fatal ambush of Lake County deputies

The state of Florida filed a death penalty petition Tuesday against Julie Ann Sulpizio, who is accused of luring Lake County deputies into a deadly ambush in August. Sulpizio is charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 2 killing of Master Deputy Bradley Link in Eustis. Prosecutors say they want the death penalty because the killing was “cold, calculated and premeditated” and because the victim was a police officer. Investigators say she sent deputies to her home, where her family members waited before opening fire on the incoming deputies. Sulpizio, 48, was arrested on August 4 for her alleged involvement in the death of Link and the injury of deputies Stefano Gargano and Harold Howell. Sulpizio pleaded not guilty to the crime. The incident occurred when five officers entered Sulpizio's home and one was still at the door. At this point shots were fired. Related: Guns, conspiracy theory media found in home of woman accused of killing Lake County deputy. Link was seriously injured in the attack and remained in the house. During a second attempt to rescue Link, another deputy was critically injured. When control of the house was regained, Link was found dead. The bodies of a man and two young women were also found. Sulpizio was taken into custody for a mental health evaluation. “She was talking about how she was hell and the woman of God and how we were all demons and our dogs were hellhounds and all that, and it was just a crazy and crazy moment,” a witness told WESH 2. This The sheriff's office identified the deceased residents as Michael Sulpizio, 49, and his daughters Savannah and Cheyenne Sulpizio, both in their early 20s. Julie Sulpizio is the biological mother of Savannah and Cheyenne. Michael adopted her, LCSO said. Two small dogs were found dead in the yard. Sheriff Peyton Grinnell described the incident as “an ambush.”