Paul Anthony Brown was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the robbery and murder of Roger Hensley
According to court documents Paul Anthony Brown would go with the victim, Roger Hensley, back to his residence and soon after would stab him to death. Brown would steal a number of belongings from Roger Hensley including his vehicle
Paul Anthony Brown would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Paul Anthony Brown is incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution
Paul Anthony Brown Case
On November 6, 1992, Roger Hensley (“Hensley”) was found dead on the bedroom floor of an apartment in Ormond Beach, Florida. He had been stabbed multiple times and his throat had been slashed. The police found two steak knives on the floor in the living room, one of which was covered in blood. Investigators documented blood spatter in several areas of the victim’s bedroom and bathroom, as well as fingerprints and bloody shoe prints inside the apartment. Investigators also discovered several empty beer bottles and a bag of a substance presumed to be marijuana. Missing were the victim’s white Nissan pick-up truck and keys thereto.
In October of 1992, Paul Anthony Brown traveled from Tennessee to Daytona Beach where he met Scott Jason McGuire (“McGuire”). McGuire moved into Brown’s motel room and the two spent the next two weeks consuming alcoholic beverages and smoking crack cocaine. At some point Brown decided to return to Tennessee. According to McGuire, Brown offered him $1000 to drive Brown to Tennessee but McGuire’s vehicle did not work.
Thereafter, on November 5, Paul Anthony Brown and McGuire approached Roger Hensley outside of a bar and, with Hensley driving, accompanied him to his apartment. McGuire testified that during the drive, Brown held a gun behind Hensley’s seat.
McGuire also claimed that during before entering Hensley’s apartment, Paul Anthony Brown whispered, “How would you like to do it?,” to which McGuire made no response. Inside, the three men each drank a bottle of beer, shared half of a marijuana cigarette, and talked about various things, including employment possibilities. Hensley invited Brown and McGuire to spend the night. However, before retiring to his bedroom, Hensley dropped a few dollars on the table and stated, “I don’t know what you guys’ game is. If you’ve come here to rob me, this is all the money I have. You can take it.” McGuire assured Hensley that they were not there to rob him and Hensley went to bed.
After Hensley left the room, Brown told McGuire he was going to shoot Hensley and steal his truck. McGuire objected to the use of the gun because of the noise. Appearing angry at McGuire’s response, Brown walked to the kitchen and got two steak knives, handing one to McGuire. McGuire threw the knife to the ground and denounced any intention of taking part in murder. Brown said he would take care of it himself and, in a symbolic gesture, dragged his hand across his throat.
Brown told McGuire to stand by the door to block Hensley’s escape and he entered the bedroom where Hensley was lying on the bed. McGuire then heard what he thought were stabbing sounds and heard the victim say “no.” Upon hearing something hit the floor, McGuire approached the bedroom where he noticed Hensley lying on the floor covered in blood and “making sounds” as if he was “struggling to breathe.” Brown was rummaging through the victim’s bedroom looking for car keys. He found the victim’s wallet and removed a twenty-dollar bill. Brown, who had blood on his hands, arms, and pants, then tried to wash it off. McGuire did not have any blood on him, but attempted to wipe his fingerprints from everything in the apartment that he had touched.
Ten or fifteen minutes later, the two left the victim’s apartment in Hensley’s truck, stopped at their motel room to collect their belongings, and drove to Tennessee. There, Brown burned his bloody pants in a stove and McGuire departed on foot a day or two later. Brown was arrested on November 8 at a farmhouse in Tennessee by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) on unrelated charges.
Along the way, Brown and McGuire stopped at a gasoline station near Atlanta. After filling the car with gasoline, Brown handed McGuire’s identification card to the attendant without paying for the gas. After they left, the attendant called the police and gave them McGuire’s identification card. From this, the police were able to locate McGuire.
Apparently, Brown was arrested by the F.B.I. for his involvement in a bank robbery in Tennessee.
While in the custody of the F.B.I., Brown stated, “I’m a murderer, not only a bank robber”, and declared that he and another man named “Scott” killed “a white male” in Daytona Beach and stole his truck. Brown explained how the two met the victim and went back to the victim’s “motel room”, where they smoked “crack” cocaine and then stabbed and killed the victim. Brown claimed that it was McGuire’s suggestion that they find someone who owned a car, steal the car, and kill the owner. He also claimed that he stabbed the victim several times in the chest and once in the back but that McGuire slit the victim’s throat. Brown’s statements to the FBI were admitted in evidence at trial.
Brown also testified at trial and denied any involvement in the homicide, claiming instead that McGuire killed Hensley while Brown was asleep as a result of smoking marijuana. Brown testified that he awoke to find Hensley standing over him with a bloodied knife. He claimed that McGuire had stabbed Hensley once in the back and was attempting to slit his throat. Brown also claimed that after they left the apartment, McGuire threatened to frame him for the murder if Brown told anyone about it.
The jury found Brown guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder. After a penalty phase proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death by a vote of twelve to zero. The trial court followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Brown to death. The trial court found four aggravating factors and two non-statutory mitigating factors.