Florida Man Who Chopped Off Girlfriend’s Head And Stuck It On A Pole Jailed For 50 Years
A Florida man was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, whose head he chopped off and stuck on a pole, NBC Miami reports.
On July 26, 2011, Collier county police officials arrived at Christopher Serna’s North Naples apartment after receiving a call from his girlfriend’s parents. Upon their arrival, Serna was incoherent and covered in blood, with the head of his girlfriend, Suzanne Bishop, 45, next to him and a metal pole attached to the bottom of her head.
Man who chopped off girlfriend’s head and stuck it on a pole jailed for 50 years http://t.co/wtjzAK9x2p pic.twitter.com/26m80ftH0z
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) May 20, 2015
The rest of Bishop’s remains were found on the floor of her bedroom, which was covered in blood and unclothed. Officers say there was so much blood in the apartment to the point where it “appeared to cover the entire living area of the residence.”
Police officer Charles Rabin, who was at the scene, stated that Serna “appeared to be out of it and every so often he would twitch as if his entire body was having a spasm.”
“At one point he stared into my eyes as if he was looking through me and appeared to be moving his mouth as if he was carrying on a conversation with someone that wasn’t there.”
Serna was immediately taken into custody and charged with murder, but his attorney later tried to get him off by pleading insanity. They claim that he was not in his right state of mind due to his behavior upon police arrival. However, Serna wanted to enter a guilty plea, according to NY Daily News.
Accused killer Christopher Serna pleads no contest – gets 50 years for 2011 murder of Suzanne Bishop. He is 38 y/o. pic.twitter.com/2dR9WHR54u
— Sophie N-K (@sophie_mnk) May 15, 2015
Although Serna pleaded guilty to murdering and decapitating his girlfriend, he received a lighter sentenced because he took a plea deal.
“This saved the family from having to relive the case and hear again what he did to her,” said Samantha Syoen. “In many people’s eyes, this is virtually a life sentence.”
Bishop was a mother of three and an employee at a local bakery, according to a local newspaper. She and Serna had just moved in together before killing her.
Friends remember her as having one of the “greatest hearts in the world.”
In a Facebook post, one of Bishop’s daughters stated as follows.
“There are days that will change your life forever and there are days that will forever change you.”
“This is one of those days when both occur. There is no way to express the sadness of losing what provided that life.”
[Image courtesy of Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]
