The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
SMITH, Sean AKA Dolan Darling (B/M)
DOB: 05/28/76
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Case #97-7497
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable John Adams
Attorney, Trial: R. LeBlanc and F. Iennaro – Special PublicDefenders
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Christopher Quarles – AssistantPublic Defender
Attorneys, Collateral Appeals: Mark Gruber and DavidHendry – CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 10/29/96
Date of Sentence: 12/18/98
Circumstances of Offense:
Sean Smith was convicted and sentenced to death for themurder of Grazyna Mlynarczyk.
On 10/29/96, Mlynarczyk was found dead her bedroom by herboyfriend, Zdzislaw Raminiski. Mlynarczyk was naked from the waist downand had been shot in the head.
The morning of Mlynarczyk’s murder, she had told Zdzislawthat she had a doctor’s appointment and would call him afterwards. Mlynarczyk never called, and Zdzislaw was not able to contact her byphone. At this time, Zdzislaw went to Mlynarczyk’s residence and enteredusing his key. Zdzislaw found Mlynarczyk, naked from the waist down,lying in her bedroom and moved her to the bed. He noted that she was coldand covered in blood. Zdzislaw then called the police.
Firefighters responded to Zdzislaw’s call and determinedthat Mlynarczyk was dead. Officers secured items from the scene,including a lotion bottle, a woman’s undergarment, a pillow with a gun shotentering one side and exiting the other, two AmSouth Bank envelopes holding atotal of $1,200, a shoe box holding $1,000 and a wallet holding $58. Theofficers also canvassed the area for possible witnesses. The policecontacted Smith during the canvassing because he lived in an apartment close toMylnarczyk’s, but he told police that he had been working and did not knowabout the incident.
A medical examiner determined that Mlynarcyk was shot atclose range through the pillow. According to the medical examiner, therewas semen in Mlynarczyk’s vaginal area; furthermore, Mlynarczyk had a tear tothe labia majora caused by trauma to the vagina, which was associated withnonconsensual sex. The DNA of the semen collected from Mlynarczyk’s bodymatched the DNA obtained from Smith’s blood sample. Furthermore, a trialexpert, using statistical analysis, determined that Smith’s DNA profile wouldbe found in 1 out of 101 billion African Americans. Finally, Smith’sfingerprints were matched to the lotion bottle secured by the police fromMlynarczyk’s home.
Additional Information:
| Current Prison Sentence History: |
| Offense Date | Offense | Sentence Date | County | Case No. | Sentence Length |
| 11/07/96 | Carjack w/ Deadly Weapon | 04/04/97 | Orange | 9613626 | 10 Years, 6 Months |
| 11/07/96 | Robbery w/o Deadly Weapon | 04/04/97 | Orange | 9613626 | 10 Years, 6 Months |
| 11/07/96 | Agg. Battery w/Deadly Weapon | | Orange | 9613626 | 10 Years, 6 Months |
Orange County Circuit Court # 96-13626
Gerald Paul Daigneault, a cab driver, testified that hepicked up Smith as a passenger on 11/07/96. Smith proceeded to robDaigneault at gunpoint. Even though Daigneault gave Smith the money thathe demanded, Smith shot him in the back of the head. Daigneault openedthe door and rolled out onto the ground ‘playing dead’ until Smith drove awayin Daigneault’s car. On 04/04/97, Smith was sentenced to three sentencesof 10 years, 6 months and 5 days for Carjacking with a Deadly Weapon, Robberywithout a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon.
Trial Summary:
06/12/97 Smith was indicted on the following:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
Count II: Armed Sexual Battery
Count III: Armed Robbery
12/03/98 Smith was found guilty on Counts I and II.
Smith was found not guilty on Count III.
12/15/98 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 11 to 1 majority, voted for the deathpenalty.
12/18/98 Smith was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II: Armed Sexual Battery– 21 Years, 4 months and 15 days
Appeals Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC #94,691
808 So. 2d 145
01/14/99 Appeal filed.
01/03/02 FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence.
02/12/02 Rehearing denied.
02/12/02 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC #01-10548
537 U.S. 848
05/13/02 Petition filed.
10/07/02 Petition denied.
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC #97-7497
09/24/03 Motion filed.
04/26-30/04 Evidentiary hearing held.
11/02/04 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC # 04-2379
966 So.2d 366 (2007)
12/17/04 Appeal filed.
07/12/07 FSC affirmed denial of motion.
07/26/07 Motion for Rehearing filed.
09/26/07 Motion for Rehearing denied.
10/12/07 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 05-2020
966 So.2d 366 (2007)
11/02/05 Petition filed.
07/12/07 FSC denied petition.
10/12/07 Mandate issued.
United States District Court, Middle District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 07-cv-01701
10/24/07 Petition filed.
06/17/10 Petition denied.
United States Court of Appeals, 11thDistrict –Habeas Appeal
USCA# 10-13408
619 F.3d 1279
07/16/10 Appeal filed.
09/14/10 Certificate of Appealability denied.
State Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 97-7497
11/08/07 Motion filed.
02/27/08 Order holding motion in abeyance pending FSC opinion.
03/05/08 State’s Motion for Rehearing filed.
06/05/08 Motion for Rehearing granted; Stay lifted.
10/06/08 Amended motion filed.
02/20/09 Amended motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 09-555
03/27/09 Appealfiled.
07/01/10 FSC affirmed denial of postconvictionmotion.
07/16/10 Motion for Rehearing.
09/15/10 Motion denied.
10/04/10 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 10-7932
12/09/10 Petition filed.
02/22/11 Petition denied.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The Direct Appeal was pending for three years prior to adecision being rendered.
Case Information:
Smith filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Courton 01/14/99. The issues addressed included that the trial court erred indenying Smith’s motion for judgment of acquittal, in admitting DNA evidence andtestimony of a medical expert, in limiting defense questioning of prospectivejurors and that the death penalty was not proportional. The FloridaSupreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the conviction orsentence and affirmed the conviction and sentence on 01/03/02. Rehearingwas denied on 02/12/02. A mandate was issued on 02/12/02.
Smith filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 05/13/02. The petition was denied on 10/07/02.
Smith filed a 3.850 Motion in the circuit court on09/24/03. The motion was denied on 11/02/04.
On 12/17/04, Smith filed a 3.850 Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court. On 07/12/07, the FSC affirmed denial of motion. On07/26/07, Smith filed a Motion for Rehearing in the Florida Supreme Court,which was denied 09/26/07. The Florida Supreme Court issued a mandate inaccordance with the 07/12/07 opinion on 10/12/07.
On 11/02/05, Smith filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus in the Florida Supreme Court. On 07/12/07, the FSC denied thepetition. The Florida Supreme Court issued a mandate in accordance withthe 07/12/07 opinion on 10/12/07.
Smith filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in theUnited States District Court, Middle District, on 10/24/07. This petition wasdenied and dismissed with prejudice on 06/17/10.
On 0716/10, Smith filed a Habeas Corpus Appeal in the UnitedStates Court of Appeals. A Certificate of Appealability was denied on 09/14/10.
On 11/08/07, Smith filed a 3.851 Motion in the Circuit Court. On 02/27/08, the Circuit Court ordered this motion be held in abeyance pendingthe Supreme Court’s opinion. On 03/05/08, the State filed a Motion forRehearing. The Circuit Court granted rehearing as well as lifted the stayon 06/05/08. On 10/06/08, Smith filed an amended 3.851 motion in theCircuit Court. This motion was denied on 02/20/09.
On 03/27/09, Smith filed a 3.851 Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court on 06/30/09. On 07/01/10, the Florida Supreme Courtaffirmed the denial of the postconviction motion. A Motion for Rehearing wasfiled on 07/16/10 and denied on 09/15/10. A mandate was issued on 10/04/10.
Smith filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 12/09/10. This petition was denied on 02/22/11.
Institutional Adjustment:
| DATE | DAYS | VIOLATION | LOCATION |
| 02/04/98 | 0 | PART.IN RIOTS | MAYO C. I. |
| 03/28/01 | 0 | FIGHTING | UNION C. I. |
________________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 07/01/02 S.Q.
Approved: 08/08/02 W.S.
Updated: 03/09/11 EMJ