HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. — Dressed in a black and white jumpsuit, 21-year-old Zephen Xaver faced a Highlands County judge early Thursday morning, and asked for a public defender.
Xaver, charged with five counts of premeditated homicide, told a judge he could not afford an attorney.
According to police, Xaver shot five women inside a SunTrust bank in Sebring on Wednesday. After a standoff, he surrendered to a SWAT team that stormed into the building.
Investigators are still searching for a motive. They say Xaver had no connection to the women he's accused of killing.
READ XAVER'S ARREST REPORT:
Zephen Xaver Arrest Report by on Scribd
Here is what we know about Xaver so far. This information has been complied with the help of media outlets and public offices across the country:
- 2004 to 2012: NBC affiliate WNDU reports Xaver was enrolled with Plymouth Community School Corporation from 2004-2012. "Our hearts and prayers are with the victims, families, and others impacted by the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Florida," the school corporation said in a statement Thursday. (WNDU)
- 2012 to 2014: In a statement to WPTV, Bremen Public Schools Superintendent confirms Xaver attended Bremen High School "during a small segment" of the 2012-2013 school year, and "returned for a brief period during the 2013-2014 academic school year." (Bremen Public Schools)
- Mar. 2016: Xaver enlisted in the Army. He reported to initial entry military training and was separated in Jun, 2016. He was not awarded a Military Occupational Specialty.
- Fall 2018: Xaver and his mother moved to Sebring from Plymouth, Indiana, per neighbors and public records. "John Larose, who lives next door, said Xaver kept to himself, but he could hear him playing and yelling at video games in the middle of the night." (Associated Press)
- Sept. to Dec. 2018: Xaver was an online student of Salt Lake City-based Stevens-Henager College. (Associated Press, Sherrie Martin spokesperson)
- Nov. 2, 2018: Xaver was hired as a trainee prison guard at Avon Park Correctional Institution. (Florida Dept. of Corrections)
- Jan. 9, 2019: Xaver resigned from Avon Park Correction Institution. No disciplinary issues were reported. (Florida Dept. of Corrections)
- Jan. 23, 2019: Police said Xaver opened fire inside a SunTrust Bank in Sebring, killing five people. A woman claiming to be Xaver’s former girlfriend told several media outlets Xaver "always hated people and wanted everybody to die… He got kicked out of school for having a dream that he killed everybody in his class, and he’s been threatening this for so long, and he’s been having dreams about it and everything." The woman, Alex Gerlach, told reporters "every single person" she told would not take her seriously. (WSBT, Washington Post)
- Jan. 24, 2019: Xaver charged with five counts of premeditated homicide. Sebring police identify two of the five victims: Cynthia Watson, 65, a customer in the bank, and Marisol Lopez, 55, an employee at the bank.
