TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Lorenzo changed his plea to guilty to the murder and dismemberment of two men he and his accomplice, Scott Schweickert, killed in December 2003.
The details of the murders of Jason Galehouse, 26, and Michael Waccholtz, shocked the area when they happened.
According to authorities and court testimony, he and Schweickert tortured, drugged, raped, and murdered the two victims after leaving a Tampa nightclub on two separate occasions in December 2003.
In court Tuesday, Lorenzo claimed that when it came to the night Jason Galehouse died—that after meeting in the club, they'd planned to do drugs and have group sex with two other men who were into bondage.
Lorenzo also claimed he was a "bondage master" and that Schweickert wanted to become one too—so they convinced Galehouse to participate in a bondage video with him.
But he said things went wrong after that.
"But anyway, he lost control, the kid started to scream and get all upset. We did the video and put a gas mask on him because he did not want to be identified while being videotaped, so that's why the gas mask went on," said Lorenzo, "We realized the kid was probably going to call the police on all of us. So we had a pow-wow and said, 'this kid can't leave.'"
They're lurid details that friends of Galehouse had to hear in court Tuesday.
"You think you can prepare for it in your mind until you actually hear from the guy that murdered your friend and how he did it and how cold and calculating the murder was," said Tyler Butler.
Schweickert pled guilty in 2016, but Lorenzo only changed his plea to the December 2003 crime on Tuesday and the judge in the case accepted the change. Tuesday, Lorenzo also waived his right to a jury trial.
Lorenzo is already in prison on federal drug charges, but Galehouse's loved ones say they look forward to his sentencing for these charges.
"The day of the sentencing will probably give me more closure," said Butler.
With the guilty plea in place, the case will move to the penalty phase against Lorenzo. The sentencing hearing will start on February 6, 2023, and is expected to last a week.
Lorenzo faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty in this case.
