Death penalty sought for Haitian man over fatal Florida hammer attack

Prosecutors in Florida are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of killing a petrol station clerk with a hammer during a callous and shocking attack.

40-year-old Haitian Rolbert Joachin was indicted by a Lee County grand jury over the ‘incredibly violent’ death of Nilufa Easmin, a 51-year-old woman who had been working at a gas station in Fort Myers when she was attacked and killed on April 2.

Investigators say that Easmin confronted Joachin outside the station after he allegedly smashed the windscreen of her car.

It’s alleged the situation then escalated into a violent attack caught on CCTV, in which she was repeatedly struck in the face and head with a hammer.

Authorities later described the footage as ‘extremely brutal and incredibly violent’.

Members of the grand jury reviewed the evidence before returning the indictment announced on Thursday by State Attorney Amira Fox.

She said: ‘This crime was so violent, so extreme, so unwarranted… It is something that – once seen – is never to be forgotten,’ Fox News reports.

She added: ‘I want to thank the Lee County Grand Jury who watched and reviewed the gruesome evidence in this case and gave their full attention.

I know it was not easy.’
According to investigators, Joachin fled on foot after the attack which led to a citywide manhunt across the city of Fort Myers.

Police later tracked him down and arrested him.

Easmin was described by prosecutors as a mother who had been working to support her family.

Her death has sparked widespread reaction in the local community following the release of details surrounding the case.

State Attorney Fox said: ‘This defendant entered the United States illegally and brutally ended the life of a mother simply at her job, working to provide for her family.’
She also confirmed that prosecutors intend to pursue the harshest possible punishment if Joachin is convicted of the murder.

‘He will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

We will seek the death penalty in this case,’ she said.

Due to Joachin’s migrant status, the case soon became part of the wider political argument around immigration policy in the United States, prompting President Donald Trump to comment publicly on what happened.

In a Truth Social post, Trump criticised former President Joe Biden’s administration over Joachin’s immigration history.

He also referenced the surveillance footage recorded during the attack.

POTUS wrote: ‘An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida.

‘The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see.’
The president also argued the case highlighted the need for stricter immigration enforcement in the US.

He criticised judges who he said were blocking parts of his administration’s policies.

‘This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL,’ the president posted.

Reports state he was subsequently granted Temporary Protected Status, a programme that allows people from certain countries facing instability or disaster to remain temporarily in the US.

Trump has previously criticised the programme, calling it ‘massively abused and fraudulent’.

Joachin is said to have remained in the country after that status expired in 2024.

Fort Myers police have not released further details about when the case could go to trial.