'May God have mercy on my soul': Last words of man, 21, sentenced to DEATH for his role in the murder of a 15-year-old before he is taken to death row
- Michael Bargo still proclaims his innocence after being sentenced to death
- He says he was not responsible for Seath Jackson's death and that evidence against him was 'lies'
- Bargo is now the youngest of Florida's 404 death row inmate
- He was found guilty in gruesome murder of Jackson, 15, in April 2011
- Four others involved in the murder are already serving life sentences
- Seath Jackson was lured to a house in Summerfield where he was beaten, shot, burned and had his remains stuffed into paint cans and thrown in a pit
- The judge said Bargo was the ringleader who shot the fatal bullet
21
View
comments
Despite receiving the death sentence Friday for his part in the grisly slaying of 15-year-old Seath Jackson, his killer maintains his innocence.
Michael Bargo, 21, became the youngest person on death row in Florida when Judge David Eddy sentenced him, saying it was the 'most cold, calculated and premeditated case of murder I have ever seen.'
Bargo toldFox 35 that far from murdering Jackson, he hardly knew him.
Maintains innocence: He's been sentenced to death for killing Seath Jackson, 15, but Michael Bargo, 21, still says he didn't do it
'First of all I didn't kill him and second of all I met this dude like twice in my life,' he said.
People think the truth is that you are a murderer, and that you murdered a 15-year-old and you shot him in the face at point blank because you wanted to see him die,' a Fox Orlando reporter put to Bargo.
RELATED ARTICLES
Pictured: The high-achieving senior who shot female student,... 
My husband's not a murderer, says wife of marine jailed for...
Share this article
Share'Yeah, they've been telling me that for two years now.'
'So who are you instead,' the reporter asked.
'A person who didn't do that,' Bargo responded.
Fired the fatal shot: Bargo denies he was the person who shot Seath Jackson in the face, killing him
He said he could remember his grandmother crying in the courtroom as he was sentenced, and that he's sorry for the victim's family.
'I still don't know what I feel,' he said of the sentence that will see him languish on death row.
He told Fox 35 that he was unhappy with his legal team, and that the case against him was false.
'So many lies it was beyond ridiculous,' he said of the evidence against him.
'Nobody wanted to hear, and nobody wanted to sit there and tell the truth.'
RELATED ARTICLES
- Pictured: The high-achieving senior who shot female student,... My husband's not a murderer, says wife of marine jailed for...
Share this article
ShareHe will be transferred from the Marion County Jail to Death Row within the week.
Bargo's sentence with be reviewed, as is automatic with any death sentence.
The 21-year-old's last words before being led back to his cell were, 'May god have mercy on my soul.'
Justice served: Michael Bargo, 21, was sentenced to death today for his part in the slaying of teenager Seath Jackson in April 2011
Stone-faced: Bargo stared blankly at the judge as he read his sentence, only blinking a few times
Emotional day: Family and friends of Michael Bargo wept in the audience after learning of his fate
Too little, too late: Bargo's father, described during the trial as an abusive alcoholic, called out to him, saying 'I love you, son,' before he was led away
He was the last of five defendants to be sentenced in the April 2011 murder of Seath Jackson, 15, near Ocala.
The other defendants - Amber Wright, 17; Kyle Hooper, 19; Charlie Kay Ely, 21; and Justin Soto, 22 - were all sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors say Jackson was lured to the home by his ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright, where he was beaten, shot and tortured before his body was burned in a backyard fire pit.
Dubious honor: At age 21, Bargo is the youngest of Florida's 404 death row inmates
The teen's remains were then placed into three paint buckets and dumped into a limerock pit. Testimony showed bad blood existed between Jackson and Bargo, who started dating Wright after her split from the 15-year-old.
Bargo was believed to be the triggerman and mastermind behind the plot to kill Jackson. On the stand, however, Bargo fingered Hooper as the gunman.
In a recent jailhouse interview with the Star-Banner, Bargo said, ‘I'm not crazy, I'm not a psycho, I'm not a bad person.’
During the trial, Hooper described how Bargo ordered him to place Jackson in the bathtub alive so he would know who killed him.
Bargo told jurors during his trial in August that he wasn't at the home when Jackson was killed and was only an accessory after the fact. The jury recommended the death sentence by a 10-2 vote.
During the penalty phase of the trial the defense presented evidence of a messy separation between his parents that left Bargo angry and bitter.
They also suggested that Bargo suffers from seizures in his brain where he becomes unable to control his emotions.
Convicted killer: Michael Bargo, pictured in August, was convicted in less than three hours for his part in the 2011 murder of Seath Jackson. A jury late yesterday decided he deserved the death sentence
The state countered with an expert that disagrees with some of the defense's assessment. They said Bargo was in control of his emotions the night Jackson was killed.
During his sentencing, the 21-year-old sat at the defense table staring blankly at the judge. Upon learning his fate, Bargo merely blinked, but showed no emotion.
Jackson's family wasn't in the courtroom Friday. Bargo's relatives sobbed in the courtroom upon learning the sentence. His father, Michael Bargo Sr., called out ‘I love you son,’ before he was taken away.
Disturbing: Seath Tyler Jackson was brutally murdered and his body burned in a pit. His remains were then shovelled into paint cans and thrown in a dumpster
Callous crime: Michael Bargo (left), and Charlie Ely (right) were both convicted for Seath Jackson's murder
Associates: Justin Soto (left) was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, while James Young Havens III, was eventually found not to have been involved in the crime
Ex-girlfriend: Amber Wright (left) and her step-brother Kyle Hooper (right) were both sentenced to life in prison without parole
The average death row inmate remains incarcerated in a cell measuring 6 by 9 feet for 13 years before execution.
His defense attorney argued that Bargo didn't act alone and he was clearly mentally ill.
But prosecutors convinced the majority of the 12-person jury at Marion County Court that Bargo was the mastermind of a cold, calculated and premeditated murder and deserved the death sentence.
His mother, Tracey O'Brien, 38, tearfully testified before the verdict in August that her son had grown up with an alcoholic father with an explosive temper.
His lawyers attempted to avoid the death penalty by arguing that Bargo, Jr suffered abuse at the hands of his mother and was traumatized by his parents' divorce.
Relieved: The parents of Seath Jackson, Sonia (center) and Scott Jackson were pleased when their son's killer was found guilty of his murder last week
Scene: 13890 Southeast 53rd Ave in Summerfield where Seath Tyler Jackson, 15, was beaten, shot and burned to death
Going away: Bargo is led away by law enforcement to Marion County Jail where he'll remain before being transferred to death row
The devastated mother was summoned to the Florida court from her home in Michigan to testify at her son's sentencing hearing.
O'Brien reportedly did not testify at her son's murder trial because, according to testimony from Bargo, Sr, her son didn't want her there.
She told the court that the hearing was the first time she'd seen her son in four years and detailed her unhappy marriage with Bargo, Sr, who she described as an abusive alcoholic who regularly lashed out in anger.
'He would throw dinner if it wasn't warm, or I said something wrong or we got into an argument, he would start throwing things,' she said.
Six people were arrested in connection to the brutal murder of Seath Jackson and four have already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Jackson was lured to a home in April 2011 by his ex-girlfriend Amber Wright under the pretense of rekindling their relationship.
Once Jackson arrived at the house, her new boyfriend Bargo, along with Wright, Justin Soto, Charlie K Ely and Kyle Hooper beat him, shot him multiple times, tied him up, broke his knees and burned his body alive, disposing of his remains in paint cans which they threw into a quarry.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2Fdn6Sbm1xZ32Wxm6Tzp1kpp2imMZuv86uo2aEkajBbsPOq5usZZ2Wu25%2BkGaqnqakmrukscNme355hH16s7vLnmSmraKZsrN5kG5ksp2Rp3qwuMNmo56cXZmyosDHZqmor16dwa64