Murder of Nova professor Morrissey goes to trial Monday
FORT LAUDERDALE—
The case against a Plantation man accused of stabbing his landlord to death and setting a house on fire with the victim's wife and child trapped inside two years ago will go before a Broward jury on Monday.
Randy W. Tundidor, 45, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, armed kidnapping, robbery and arson, among other charges. The victim, Nova Southeastern University professor Joseph Morrissey, was in the process of evicting Tundidor's family from the townhome they rented from him.
Hundreds of jurors were interviewed last week, grilled on whether they had heard about the case, whether they could be fair, and whether they could return a conviction in a case where the ultimate punishment could be applied. A jury was sworn in late Thursday.
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Prosecutors plan to bring numerous witnesses in to testify, but two are likely to offer the most damning testimony.
The victim's wife, Linda Morrissey, will tell how Tundidor and his son broke into the Morrissey home, kidnapped the couple, drove them to an ATM and forced them at gunpoint to make a cash withdrawal, then drove them back and killed her husband as he begged for his life, according to court records.
And the suspect's son, Randy H. Tundidor, is likely to tell the same story, verifying everything prosecutors have believed about the father since the April 6, 2010, murder.
The younger Tundidor gave a preview of his testimony in court last August, after he accepted a plea deal that will keep him from being executed for his admitted role in the crime.
"He was begging for his life," the defendant's son, now 23, said of the victim. "He was saying that he had a family and that he didn't want to die. And I don't know, man. My dad didn't care about that."
Morrissey, 46, was stabbed nine times and was beaten on the head, according to an autopsy report released two months after the gruesome murder.
After he killed Morrissey, Tundidor wanted to go after the wife and child, a sleeping 5-year-old boy, the younger Tundidor said. "At this point, I said I was not going to allow him to do that."
He said his father became angry and decided instead to set the Morrissey home on fire with Linda Morrissey bound and helpless. According to the autopsy report, the victim's scalp, forehead, neck and right shoulder were charred; it appeared he was set on fire with an accelerant.
According to police reports, Morrissey's son was awakened by the smoke alarm after the intruders left and was able to bring his mother a pair of scissors. The two escaped the burning home and ran to neighbors for help.
The younger Tundidor said he watched news reports the morning after the murder and was relieved to find Linda Morrissey and her son had made it out alive.
The younger Tundidor was arrested the afternoon of April 7, 2010, after he arrived at the Beverly Hills Café on Cleary Boulevard in Plantation looking nervous and clutching a handful of money.
Another son, Shawn Tundidor, cooperated with police during the investigation.
Police shut down Gator Tint, the business run by the elder Tundidor near State Road 7 and Peters Road, in a search for evidence. The elder Tundidor was arrested two days after his son.
The defendant's lawyer, Christopher Pole, has given little indication during pre-trial motions how he will answer the charges against his client.
While the younger Tundidor will not get the death sentence, prosecutor Tom Coleman made no promises about what sentence he will recommend. Defense lawyers in death penalty cases frequently say any sentence less than execution is a victory, but the younger Tundidor's lawyer, Patrick Rastatter, said he hopes his client will not have to die behind bars.
"He shouldn't have to die for what his father did," he said after his client's plea deal became public.
The younger Tundidor will be sentenced after his father's trial, which is expected to take two to three weeks.
raolmeda@tribune.com, 954-356-4457 or Twitter @SSCourts
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