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. 

SIMMONS, Eric (W/M)

DC#     461776

DOB:  11/23/74

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Fifth Judicial Circuit, Lake County Case #0102577

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Michael T. Johnson

Attorney, Trial: Jeffery M Pfister – Public Defender

Attorney, Direct Appeal: Janice C. Orr – Private

Attorney, Collateral Appeals: David Hendry, David Bass,James Driscoll – CCRC-M

Date of Offense: 12/03/01

Date of Sentence: 12/11/03

Circumstances of Offense:

Eric Simmons was indicted and convicted of the kidnapping,sexual battery and murder of Deborah Tressler. 

On 12/03/01, Tressler’s body was discovered in a wooded areaby a patrolling officer.  Crime Scene Technicians photographed the sceneand took evidence such as beer cans, larvae off the exterior of the body, andcasts of the tire tracks that had the greatest detail.  No fingerprints ofvalue or bullet shells were found at the scene.  Many tire track printsnear the body were destroyed in the dig looking for bullets.

The larvae collected from Tressler’s body were used todetermine the date of death to be 12/01/03.

Since there was no blood or disturbance to the debris aroundthe body, it was concluded that the murder had taken place elsewhere.  Thevictim had blunt trauma to the head and face, a cut on the neck and a stabwound five inches deep in the lower abdomen.  She had injuries to her legsand knees along with defensive wounds to her hands and arms.  She also hadbruising and lacerations to her anus which were determined to be caused by anobject inconsistent with consensual anal intercourse.

Detectives investigated the laundromat where Tresslerworked.  They found her purse there with a gift list for Eric Simmons andhis family members. No blood was found at the laundromat.

Simmons’ car was confiscated for investigation. Evidence of blood stains was found on the passenger’s door, car floor andcushions.  The rear tires of Simmons car were a possible match to the tiretracks found at the scene. Jose Rodriguez testified that he saw Simmonsand Tressler talking together in the laundromat on the evening of12/01/03.  Rodriguez, however, incorrectly identified a photograph asSimmons.  It wasn’t until later, when a single photograph of Simmons wasshown to Rodriguez, that he accurately identified Simmons.

During trial, two witnesses testified that on 12/01/03, atthe Circle K, a car drove by and a girl opened the door, screamed for help andattempted to escape. The first witness identified Simmons car as being similarto the car he saw on that night, but not identical.  The second witnessfrom the Circle K positively identified Simmons’ car, however, she testifiedthat Tressler’s hair did not match the hair of the girl she saw attempting toescape from the car. 

During questioning, Simmons acknowledged spending time withTressler on 12/01/03, but claimed that at the end of the evening he dropped heroff at the laundromat.  The next morning, Simmons went to Tressler’s hometo pick her up for the day, but she was not there. Detectives then told Simmonsthey had found blood stains inside his car.  At this point, Simmonsadmitted to committing the murder. 

The larvae collected from Tressler’s body were used todetermine the time of death.  Originally, 12/01/03 was the determined dateof the murder; however, further examination by an expert revealed that thelarvae could not provide evidence for a conclusive date.  Further examinationof Simmons’ car also indicated the blood stains were insufficient to classifyit as the place where the murder took place.     

Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:

Prior Community Supervision History:

Trial Summary:

12/28/01         Indicted as follows:

                                   Count I:           SexualBattery

                                   Count II:         First-Degree Murder

01/13/03         Indictment Amended as follows:

                                   Count I:           Kidnapping

                                   Count II:         Sexual Battery

                                   Count III:        First-DegreeMurder   

09/17/03         Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.

09/19/03         Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.

12/11/03         Sentenced as follows:

                                   Count I:           Kidnapping– Life

                                   Count II:         Sexual Battery –Life   

                                   Count III:        First-Degree Murder –Death

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC #04-19

934 So. 2d 1100

01/07/04         Appeal filed

05/11/06         FSC affirmed Simmons’ conviction and sentence

07/11/06         Rehearing denied.

01/10/07         Mandate issued

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 06-812

549 U.S. 1209

12/07/06         Petition filed

02/20/07         USSC denied petition

Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion

CC# 01-2577

01/29/08         Motion filed

08/23/10          Motion denied

09/08/10          Motion for Rehearing filed

09/20/10          Motion for Rehearing denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal

FSC# 10-2035

(Pending)

10/22/10          Appeal filed

Case Information:

On 01/07/04, Simmons filed a direct appeal with the FloridaSupreme Court.  Simmons contended the verdict was not supported byevidence, motions to suppress were improperly denied, law enforcement failed toinvestigate the case to provide any valuable evidence and the Statemischaracterized and invented new evidence.  Simmons also contended thetrial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, there was no possible causefor his arrest and DNA evidence was improperly submitted and argued. Simmonsalso argued that the lower court erred in excluding the defense’s eye witnessexpert, the state improperly classified one of its witnesses as an expert andin-court identification of Simmons’ car was improperly permitted. Finally, Simmons argued the prosecutor’s misconduct jeopardized a fair trialand that the death penalty was improperly imposed.  On 05/11/06, the FSCaffirmed the conviction and sentence. 

Simmons filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with theU.S. Supreme Court on 12/07/06 that was denied on 02/20/07.

Simmons filed a 3.851 Motion in the Circuit Court on01/29/08.  This motion was denied on 08/23/10. Simmons filed a Motion forRehearing on 09/08/10, and it was denied on 09/20/10.

On 10/22/10, Simmons filed a 3.851 Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court. This appeal is currently pending.

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Report Date:    11/09/04          DDK

Approved:        05/12/06         JFL

Updated:          11/03/10         EMJ