Florida seemed to be the epicenter of all things genuinely tragic and downright weird in 2012. The state made constant headlines for everything from the outrage over Trayvon Martin’s murder to the bafflement over a local who died after a roach-eating contest. There were shark attacks and snake warnings in airports, beached whales, and even more from Casey Anthony. Here’s a rundown of the always-bizarre Sunshine State’s strangest year yet.
Getty; AP; Monroe County SheriffâÂÂs Sgt. Evan Calhoun; Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Tragically, the murder of Trayvon Martin was Florida’s most controversial source of attention this year. After neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman allegedly shot and killed Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, outrage quickly spread from Jacksonville to the rest of the globe. Martin was found dead near his home in Sanford, wearing a hoodie and carrying only a pack of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea on his way home from a convenience store. Within a month of Martin’s death on Feb. 26, thousands of protesters were marching in cities and towns across the country, demanding justice for Martin.
The murder also drew intense scrutiny to the state’s Stand Your Ground law, which allows anyone to use force when defending themselves. Zimmerman’s trial date is set for June.
Bad horror movie or just another day in South Florida? On May 26, Rudy Eugene, a Miami resident, started gnawing at Ronald Poppo’s face, taking out one of Poppo’s eyes, both his eyebrows, nose, right cheek, and parts of his forehead. Eugene, who was naked, apparently accused Poppo, who is homeless, of stealing his Bible, beat Poppo unconscious, and started eating his face.
Eugene was shot and killed by a local police officer, so the cause of the attack remains unknown. In a later police interview, Poppo said of Eugene, “he ripped me to ribbons.”
AP
Florida was—yet again—the epicenter of all things broken in America’s voting system. First came the controversy over the state’s so-called voter purges led by Gov. Rick Scott, in which alleged noncitizen voters were removed from the voter rolls. After a series of lawsuits, thousands of these voters were restored in September, although Scott produced a smaller—but still disputed—list of noneligible voters later that month.
In November, a St. Petersburg resident was seen riding a manatee in the ocean, a bizarre violation of the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act. A concerned citizen snapped a photo of Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez as she rode through the waters in Pinellas County. Gutierrez was arrested at a local Sears where she worked but claimed she didn’t realize it was against the law to touch or harass manatees. She faces a $500 fine or up to 60 days in jail.
There’s never a dull moment in Key West: a 10-foot snake was found hanging out at the Key West Airport in October. Monroe County police officers made sure to snap a picture with the gigantic snake before removing it from the airport’s premises. But Key West isn’t the only part of the Sunshine State with a snake problem: growing python populations in Florida’s Everglades have decimated native populations of raccoons, rabbits, bobcats, and other mammals. The pythons, which have been found to weigh upwards of 160 pounds, even eat alligators.
He was just trying to help! Gov. Rick Scott provided a hotline number for Floridians concerned about a deadly meningitis outbreak, but the number was off by a single digit and instead directed callers to a phone sex line. “Hello boys,” the automated message said when Floridians called in, expecting information about meningitis, “thank you for calling me on my birthday.” The correct number for the Florida Fungal Meningitis Hotline was quickly updated.
The Florida case that had the whole world fascinated officially ended in 2011, but evidence continued to make headlines a full year after Casey Anthony was acquitted. The Orange County sheriff’s office released Google searches found on Anthony’s computer for suffocation methods (misspelled as “suffication”). The searches were done on the last day that Caylee Anthony was seen alive. Anthony’s attorney Jose Baez admitted he was “shocked” that the prosecution didn’t present the searches as evidence. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton said, “it’s just a shame we didn’t have it.”
Edward Archbold of West Palm Beach dropped dead shortly after winning a roach-eating contest hosted by a reptile store. He was one of 30 contestants competing for the grand prize of a python. A recent autopsy found that Archold died from choking on bug body parts. Somehow, the other contestants fared just fine. “We feel terribly awful,” said Ben Siegel, the owner of the store, after Archbold died.
It’s no surprise that one of the year’s most shocking national stories has its roots in Florida. The scandal began to unfold at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where socialite Jill Kelley apparently met Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, sparking the scandal that would unseat the head of the C.I.A. The base has been described as a social climbers’ paradise, with nightly parties, and the surrounding neighborhood is jokingly called “Wisteria Lane,” after the street on Desperate Housewives. Kelley was banned from the base after the scandal broke.
After unarmed black 17-year-old Jordan Davis was allegedly shot and killed by a 45-year-old white software developer in Jacksonville, comparisons to the Trayvon Martin case started flying.
The alleged shooter, Michael Dunn, and Davis got into an argument at a gas station about the loud music Davis was playing in his car. According to witnesses, Dunn took out a gun and fired eight or nine shots, hitting Davis twice. Dunn’s attorney said her client was acting in self-defense, clearing the path for another debate about Stand Your Ground, and perhaps more international outrage.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office/AP
Florida’s laws were back under the microscope as the case of Cristian Fernandez, who was arrested at age 12 for allegedly killing his 2-year-old half-brother, began to get national and international attention. Fernandez, who was a sixth grader at a local Jacksonville middle school, has been in a juvenile detention center since March 2011, accused of killing his half-brother, David, by slamming him into a bookshelf.
Prosecutor Angela Corey, who is also lead prosecutor on the George Zimmerman case, decided to try Fernandez, who is now 13, as an adult, meaning he faces life in prison if convicted. Fernandez allegedly called his mother, Bianela Susana, after realizing his half-brother, David, was unconscious. Susana spent several hours searching the Internet for information on concussions and unconsciousness before taking David to the hospital, where he died. Fernandez has a growing online support network calling for his release from jail, but a murder trial is set for March.
