The murder of Bobby Kent took a Florida community by surprise as it turns out those who were responsible were suppose to be his friends
Bobby Kent and Marty Puccio grew up together and their relationship was rather strained. Bobby family did not like Marty as they felt that they would drag their son down as Kent had dropped out of high school and was barely scrapping by. The Puccio family did not care for Bobby as they believed that he was bullying their son
The relationship between Bobby Kent and Marty Puccio hit a barrier when Marty began to date a girl named Lisa Connelly. Lisa definitely did not like Bobby and soon her and Marty were planning on how to get rid of him for good
The first plan would take place when Marty Puccio and Lisa Connelly enlisted the help of Donald Semenec, Heather Swallers, Lisa Connelly, and Ali Willis. The goal was to have Bobby Kent take a ride with Ali Willis and when the two were having sex for Lisa to fatally shoot him. Soon after they arrived Donald and Heather would take off. Lisa would lose her nerve before she could pull the trigger
The actual murder took place on July 13 1993 and began when Lisa Connelly met a reported hitman Derek Kaufman, who was living at home at the time. Kaufman who was unable to come up with a gun would come up with a simple plan. Lisa would recruit her cousin Derek Dzvirko to help with the new plan
The group including Bobby Kent would meet at a rural swampy area. While Bobby was being distracted by Ali Willis and Heather Swallers he would be stabbed by Donald Semenec. When Bobby looked at Marty Puccio for help his so called friend would stab him in the stomach. Kent attempted to run away however he would be swarmed by the group. Puccio would slice his throat and Kaufman would strike him in the head multiple times with a baseball bat
The group made a promise to never talk to anyone about the murder however within days police would learn about the Bobby Kent murder and soon would have all of the group in custody. Derek Dzvirko was the first to plead guilty and agree to testify against the others for a reduced sentence
In the end Marty Puccio, Derek Kaufman, Donald Semenec would all be convicted and sentenced to life in prison
Lisa Connelly initially received a life sentence however it was later reduced and she was released from prison in 2004
Ali Willis sentence would be reduced to seventeen years and be released from prison in 2001
Derek Dzvirko would be sentenced to eleven years in prison and be released in 1999
Heather Swallers would be sentenced to seven years and be released in 1998
Bobby Kent Killer Photos
Marty Puccio
Donald Semenec
Derek Kaufman
Lisa Connelly
Ali Willis
Derek Dzvirko
Heather Swallers
Bobby Kent Killers FAQ
Bobby Kent Murder Case
The culpability of the defendants charged in the death of Bobby Kent are not equal. Bobby Kent’s death was primarily the result of Martin Puccio’s actions․ Contrasting the relative culpability of each defendant indicted for the murder of Bobby Kent, Martin Puccio is significantly more culpable.
The above statements were based entirely on the trial court’s findings of fact. Our reading of the sentencing order, however, reveals that Puccio played no greater a role in the planning and killing of Kent than several of the other co-perpetrators and, in fact, a lesser role than some. The trial court made the following findings of fact in its sentencing order:
1. The defendant and six other young adults/juveniles were charged with the murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Bobby Kent which occurred on July 15, 1993.
2. Martin Puccio resided on the same block as the victim, Bobby Kent. They had been best friends since third grade.
3. Lisa Connelly, at the time of the murder, was Martin Puccio’s girlfriend and was pregnant with his baby.
4. Alice Willis was best friends with Lisa Connelly. Shortly after Connelly began to date Martin Puccio, Connelly introduced Bobby Kent to Alice Willis. Kent and Willis subsequently began to date. Their relationship lasted for a few weeks. Afterwards, Alice Willis moved back to Palm Bay, Florida, to reside with her parents. 5. On July 13, 1993, Lisa Connelly telephoned Alice Willis in Palm Bay. Willis was told that Bobby Kent was planning to come to Palm Bay to murder her (Willis) and smother her baby, unless she returned to Broward County to date him again.
6. Shortly after this discussion, Alice Willis, Donald Semenec and Heather Swallers arrived at Connelly’s house from Palm Bay, Florida. They all proceeded to Derek Kaufman’s house. There, Willis and Connelly enlisted Derek Kaufman’s assistance in the plan to murder Bobby Kent.
7. Derek Kaufman portrayed himself as a gang leader. He had the reputation of one who could do, and had previously done, harm to others. He suggested that they (Connelly and Willis) wait to attack Bobby Kent until plans could properly be made, so that the crime could be committed without detection.
8. Kaufman suggested that the proper place to attack Bobby Kent was a remote area of western Broward County (Weston). He claimed that he had previously killed others at this site. This is where Bobby Kent was murdered the next night.
9. Lisa Connelly and Alice Willis did not heed Kaufman’s advice. That night, they took Connelly’s mother’s handgun, concealed it, and drove with Bobby Kent to the remote site where he was ultimately murdered the next night. After their attempt failed, Willis, Connelly and Bobby Kent returned to Kent and Puccio’s block. There, in the presence of Martin Puccio, Lisa Connelly, Heather Swallers and Donald Semenec, Bobby Kent walked off hand in hand with Alice Willis to his house. Martin Puccio made the comment that Bobby Kent had to die. Allegedly, Bobby Kent raped Alice Willis that night at his house.
10. The next day, Derek Dzvirko (Lisa Connelly’s cousin) was enlisted. He joined Donald Semenec, Derek Kaufman and Martin Puccio in murdering Bobby Kent the next night.
11. On the night of his murder, Bobby Kent was lured to the same remote rock pit area in western Broward County, where he had been the night before with Willis and Connelly. Bobby Kent was there under the belief that Willis and he were rekindling their relationship and to race her new car.
12. Prior to meeting Bobby Kent on the night or his murder, Lisa Connelly, Alice Willis, Donald Semenec, Derek Dzvirko and Heather Swallers picked Derek Kaufman up at his house. On the way to Bobby Kent’s and Martin Puccio’s block, the group discussed various methods to kill Bobby Kent.
13. Upon arrival at Martin Puccio’s house, the group continued to discuss their plan with Martin Puccio present. On this hot summer night, Puccio wore a trench coat. Underneath his coat, he had strapped a divers knife to his leg. He also brought with him a metal pipe. Derek Kaufman hid in the back of Martin Puccio’s mother’s car so that Bobby Kent, who had not yet arrived, would not know he was present with the others.
14. Between the group’s members there were four weapons: two knives, a baseball bat and a lead pipe.
15. Unknown to the victim, there was no intention to race cars and Alice Willis was not desirous of rekindling their relationship. To the contrary, Alice Willis brought along her current boyfriend, Donald Semenec, who was introduced to the victim as “Alex,” the alleged boyfriend of co-defendant, Heather Swallers.
16. Together, Willis, the victim, Semenec and Swallers drove for approximately one-half hour to the rock pit. Lisa Connelly, Martin Puccio, Derek Dzvirko and Derek Kaufman (who had hidden himself from Bobby Kent’s sight), drove along in a second car.
17. At the rock pit, Alice Willis walked hand in hand with Bobby Kent by the bank of the canal. While she feigned her relationship with him, the other co-conspirators (including Puccio) were making their final preparations prior to commencing the deadly attack.
18. As the prearranged signal was given, Donald Semenec stealthily approached Bobby Kent from behind and stabbed him in the back of the neck. This action commenced the deadly attack of Bobby Kent.
19. The medical examiner, Dr. Daniel Selove, testified that Bobby Kent died as a result of multiple stab wounds. There were two stab wounds to the back of Bobby Kent’s neck. One stab wound penetrated the skin one to two inches in depth along the side of the backbone. The other stab wound was located in the back of Bobby Kent’s head, scalp deep. There were three superficial stab wounds in the area of Bobby Kent’s right shoulder. These wounds did not penetrate more than a half-inch to an inch below the skin. Bobby Kent’s right abdomen was slashed open. This wound was two inches wide at the opening and penetrated his body six to seven inches deep. After passing through the skin and muscle at the front of the abdomen, the wound passed through some attachments of the intestine, through the diaphragm and then punctured tissues of the lower back. This eventually caused Bobby Kent’s intestine to protrude from his body.
Two defensive wounds were located, one on Bobby Kent’s right arm and the other on his left hand.
There were two incised wounds from slicing motions which slit his neck twice. The upper wound was four inches across, while the lower wound was five inches across. The voice box or windpipe was severed as a result. This prevented Bobby Kent from speaking and caused bleeding into the windpipe which obstructed his ability to bring air in and out of his lungs.
Bobby Kent’s neck was fractured just inside the cut throat area. Two bones were fractured in the vertebrae column behind the trachea by a force which caused the head to move backward.
Bobby Kent was also stabbed in the left chest. The wound was two inches across and penetrated six to seven inches into his chest. The knife penetrated three of his four heart chambers, continuing through a lung and puncturing the tissue between the ribs and the back of the chest.
There was a two-inch-long laceration of Bobby Kent’s right scalp. This injury was inflicted by a blunt instrument. The skull was not fractured.
20. After the first blow was inflicted upon Bobby Kent, he turned to his childhood friend, Martin Puccio, for help. It was at that time that Puccio stabbed him in the abdomen. Wounded, Bobby Kent attempted to flee from his attackers. Kaufman yelled to the others that the victim had to be stopped. Kent was pursued, brought to the ground and surrounded by Semenec, Kaufman and Puccio. The attack, which resulted in the murder of Bobby Kent, then continued.
21. As the attack concluded, Derek Kaufman took the heavily weighted baseball bat and swung it at the prone and almost lifeless body of Bobby Kent. Afterwards, witnesses testified that the noise which had been coming from Kent stopped.
22. Bobby Kent, clinging to life, was thrown into the canal by Martin Puccio and Derek Kaufman and left to die. Afterwards, all the co-conspirators drove away as planned to Hollywood Beach.
In short, the plot to kill Kent was hatched by Alice Willis and Lisa Connelly, and their first recruit was gang leader Derek Kaufman, who had a reputation for violence. Willis and Connelly ignored Kaufman’s advice to wait for a carefully constructed plot, and the two women concocted a scheme wherein they would kill Kent that night. The plan flopped, and the next day Derek Dzvirko was enlisted. Prior to the murder that night, Connelly, Willis, Donald Semenec, Dzvirko, Heather Swallers, and Kaufman all discussed various ways to kill Kent as they drove to Puccio’s house, where they continued the discussion. When the group proceeded to the rock pit that night with Kent, Puccio carried a knife and a pipe; others carried a second knife and a weighted baseball bat. Semenec struck the initial blow, a knife-wound to Kent’s neck. From that point onward, Semenec, Kaufman, and Puccio all participated in the stabbing and beating of Kent. In conclusion, Kaufman bludgeoned Kent with the baseball bat, and then he and Puccio threw the body into the canal.
Nothing in the trial court’s findings above indicates that Puccio played a greater role in the planning and killing of Kent than any of the others. In fact, he played a lesser role than others in the planning since he was not present during the initial formulation of the plan or when the group discussed ways to kill Kent on their way to Puccio’s house. Puccio also played no greater a role in the actual killing than either Semenec or Kaufman-it was Semenec who initiated the melee with the stab wound to the neck and Kaufman who finished it with the coup de grace with the bat.