Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the woman accused in a fatal deputy ambush

The woman charged in the horrific ambush that killed a Lake County sheriff's deputy faces the death penalty, according to new court documents filed Tuesday by prosecutors.

Julie Ann Sulpizio, 48, was indicted by a grand jury in August on charges of being a principal in the first-degree murder of a police officer. Sulpizio, who claimed to be inspired by God, attempted to lure several residents of her Eustis neighborhood, whom she believed to be sinners, into her family's home so that they could kill them, as she later admitted to officials. The resulting ambush killed Deputy Bradley Michael Link.

While prosecutors said they had not decided whether to seek the death penalty at the time of arraignment, they have now filed a criminal complaint based on five aggravating factors:

• The defendant had previously been convicted of another felony or a felony involving the use or threat of violence against the person.
• The defendant knowingly created great danger to the lives of many people.
• The capital crime was committed to disrupt or obstruct the lawful exercise of a government function or the enforcement of laws.
• The capital crime was a homicide and was committed coldly, calculatedly and premeditatedly without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
• The victim of the capital crime was a police officer who was carrying out his official duties.

On August 2, Sulpizio attacked several neighbors in their own homes, choking one and intending for them to follow her back to Sulpizio's home. When neighbors called officers, Julie Ann Sulpizio attempted to lure both neighbors and officers to her home, police said, but instead she was arrested and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, according to court records.

When officers later entered Sulpizio's home to check on the family, Julie's husband, Michael Sulpizio, and their daughters, Cheyenne and Savannah, opened fire, leading to a standoff before the three killed themselves.

Link was killed and deputies Harold Howell and Stefano Gargano were injured.

In her later interview, Julie Ann Sulpizio told officers that she shot her two dogs because they were vessels for “Lucy,” short for Lucifer, the devil; said she believed her husband was the biblical angel Michael; and claimed God spoke through her, records show.

The police found materials related to the conspiracy theory in Sulpizio's house, it was said.

In addition to the murder charge, Julie Ann Sulpizio was also charged in the August indictment with three counts: complicity in attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and assault on a law enforcement officer, and three counts of battery.

Under Florida law, perpetrators of a crime are persons who assisted in the commission of a crime and may be punished as if they had committed the crime themselves.

Originally published: October 1, 2024 at 8:24 p.m