MIAMI – Closing arguments concluded Wednesday in the resentencing trial for the murders that inspired the movie “Pain & Gain.”
The fates of Noel Doorbal and Daniel Lugo now lie in the hands of a jury.
It’s been nearly 30 years since the murders that placed them both on death row. Doorbal and Lugo, bodybuilders and members of the Miami Lakes “Sun Gym Gang,” were convicted of kidnapping and killing Kristina Furton and Frank Griga.
The victims were injected with horse tranquilizers, and Griga was brutally beaten. Their bodies were discovered stuffed into barrels.
Prosecutor Kioceaia Stenson stated, “He committed these crimes because he was committed to a lifestyle and he wanted it to continue.”
The original death sentences for Lugo and Doorbal were overturned, leading to this new resentencing trial.
Each defendant will have his fate decided by a separate jury, with each jury receiving its own closing argument focused on each defendant’s role.
“We’re doing what we can to save his life,” Doorbal’s defense attorney, Bruce Fleisher, said.
Lugo’s jury heard that he was the mastermind behind the plan to extort money from the wealthy couple.
Prosecutor Scott Warfman argued, “He was the mastermind of everything bad that happened to these victims.”
However, Lugo’s defense attorney, Alex Sola, countered, “They want you to believe that Lugo had no respect for life. But you do.”
Meanwhile, Doorbal’s jury was told that he was the alleged muscle behind the operation.
Fleisher maintained, “He was not the mastermind. He wasn’t the planner.”
Both juries were asked to return Thursday. At that point, they will get jury instructions and begin deliberations.