Man gets life sentence for stabbing homeless man 41 times

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for stabbing a homeless man and dumping his body in a citrus grove.
 
The Ledger of Lakeland reports Steven Rios, 26, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to first-degree murder in exchange for prosecutors dropping the death penalty.
 
In a hearing, Rios asked lawyer Richard Watts to apologize to the victim's family for him. Watts turned to the family and friends of 32-year-old Gerald Lamar Stoudemire and said, "He is sorry from his heart. He can't speak, or he will break down. He asked me to tell you."

Prosecutors said Stoudemire accused Rios of stealing drugs from him on Sept. 21, 2013. Rios stabbed Stoudemire, put his body in the trunk of his car and drove to the grove.

After the hearing, Stoudemire's aunts and uncle said they were relieved they wouldn't have to relive the events of their nephew's death in a court trial.

"It took three days to find him in that grove," said Joanne Thornton. "He was left there like a bag of garbage."

After stabbing Stoudemire and dumping his body, Rios traveled to Dallas, where he was arrested and brought back to Polk County.

WFTV