Polk mother forgives man who murdered her daughter

Thursday, February 28, 2008

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Mark Kuzara pled no contest to first-degree murder Thursday, landing him in state prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole.

BARTOW (Bay News 9) -- Handcuffed and shackled, with seven Polk County deputies standing guard, Mark Kuzara entered a Polk County courtroom Thursday morning to learn his fate.

The 31-year-old former neighborhood watch president and YMCA camp counselor is charged with killing 15-year-old Stacey Gloe in July.

Lakeland Police said Kuzara lured Gloe to his home with the promise of alcohol. Once he got the teen alone, police say he stabbed her nine times.

Kuzara pled no contest to first-degree murder Thursday, landing him in state prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole.

Gloe's friends missed class Thursday to be in court.

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"She had a lot of friends," Alis Torres said. "Everybody loved her."

Gloe's grieving mother, Gloria Statum, was the only person to speak out in the courtroom.

"I've been wanting for this to happen," Statum said. "I've been wanting for this to be over. But, it's never really going to be over."

Statum said in order to move on, she had to publicly forgive her daughter's killer.

"This is not easy for me," Statum said. "But, Mark Kuzara, because I know I have to ... I forgive you."

Gloe's mother, Gloria Statum, forgave Kuzara.

The statement brought Statum and Kuzara to tears.

"Forgiveness is a hard pill to swallow, very hard," Statum said. "And in this case it was the hardest pill I've ever had to swallow."

Gloe's friends said they're not ready to forgive Kuzara.

"We're angry," Torres said. "I don't forgive him. She had a life to live. She was only 15. Why do that?"

Investigators said they still don't know what drove Kuzara over the edge that night. Psychologists said he suffers from a mental illness.

"I hope in prison, that he suffers," Torres said.

The state asked Kuzara's transfer to a state prison be expedited. While awaiting trial at the Polk County Jail, he repeatedly mutilated himself and refused medical treatment.

Read more about Kuzara's sentencing hearing in Friday's edition of the Lakeland Ledger, Bay News 9's newspaper partner.