Vickie Williams will spend the rest of her life in prison after jurors rejected the death penalty on Friday during the penalty phase of her trial.
Vickie Williams was convicted Tuesday of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of theft in the New Year’s Eve 2022 stabbing deaths of Darryl and Sharon Getman inside their Mount Dora senior living facility apartment.
The state and defense both presented closing arguments on Friday. Prosecutors argued the brutality of the killings and the Getmans’ ages warranted the death penalty.
Defense attorneys pointed to Williams’ untreated schizophrenia, arguing her severe mental illness should spare her life.
During the penalty phase, jurors heard emotional testimony from the adult children of Darryl and Sharon Getman as they weigh whether Williams should receive the death penalty.
Brittany Getman told jurors the loss of her parents has changed everything about her daily life.
“Every day has become heavy. The way you navigate the world is forever altered. Colors are duller, and perhaps most crushing, pure joy no longer exists,” she said.
Her brother, Anthony Getman, described how he still reaches out to his parents even though they are gone.
“I still send texts to their old phone numbers on birthdays and holidays… it’s just my way of trying to keep some small connection with them,” he said.
Jurors spent roughly 30 minutes deliberating before returning a guilty verdict on all three counts.
Mount Dora police found the Getmans’ bodies inside their apartment in December 2022. Police in Mount Dora say security video shows Williams walking in the Waterman Village senior living complex. She also asked to use a resident’s shower and charge her cell phone.
Footage also showed the Getmans’ car, a Kia Soul, leaving the apartment complex around 2 a.m. on Dec. 31.
Detectives tracked Sharon Getman’s cellphone — left inside the missing vehicle — using cellphone pings and license plate readers.
That trail led to Savannah, Georgia, where Williams was arrested in January 2023.