A high-profile Volusia County triple-murder case was back in court Friday as lawyers argued a dozen motions — including the death penalty, which is back on the table.

Luis Toledo is charged in the October 2013 murders of his wife and her two children. The bodies of Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her two children, 9-year-old Thalia and 8-year-old Michael, have not been found.

The focus of the hearing at the Volusia County Courthouse was to determine whether the state has enough evidence to pursue the death penalty in their case against Toledo.

In arguing against the death penalty for their client, Toledo's attorneys argued that it doesn't apply in this case. They said that because the law was in flux and later determined unconstitutional, and how the law has been interpreted so many times, Toledo has never actually been eligible for the death penalty.

"The death penalty is just a political statement that says we can have it if we want it, but the mechanism under which we put people to death has to be done in a constitutional way," Toledo attorney Jeff Deen said.

The defense also argued that the current interpretation of the death penalty is overly broad. They said any first-degree murder case could qualify as a death penalty case.

Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano disagreed, denying the two death penalty motions. But Toledo's attorneys said they will continue to file motions appealing the death penalty.

"Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. Get ready for trial," Zambrano said.

The prosecution also established several processes on how the trial will be conducted as the Oct. 2 jury selection approaches. The judge also made decisions on how they will filter through the 150 jurors who will be questioned before a jury is selected.


The bodies of Yessenia Suarez and her 2 children, 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, have not been found.