A 35-year-old Florida woman was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the shocking murder of her male roommate. Nichole Maks was found guilty of killing Michael Cerasoli, her 79-year-old roommate, back in July 2023. She was accused of beating and stabbing him to death, and trying to destroy evidence by setting their shared home on fire and dousing herself in Diet Mountain Dew in an attempt to remove his DNA.
Maks reached a plea agreement by November in which she pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree murder, as opposed to a first-degree murder charge for which one can get a mandatory life sentence. Further, she pleaded no contest to arson of a dwelling, which is a first-degree felony, as well as evidence tampering and resisting arrest with violence, both of which are third-degree felonies. According to the plea agreement, the 35-year prison sentence is the minimum she can get.
Who is Nichole Maks and what did she do?
Maks, of Daytona Beach, has been accused of brutally murdering Cerasoli on July 1, 2023. As reported by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Public Defender Jessica Lindsey Roberts told the court that Maks had been a victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking throughout her life.
At 1:46 am on the day of the murder, the Daytona Beach authorities were called to the scene of a house fire. After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters found Cerasoli’s body face-down in his bedroom on the top floor.
Cerasoli sustained blunt force trauma to the head and several stab wounds, court records claimed, as reported by Law&Crime. Cops recovered a bloody knife and two cell phones from the crime scene. They also found blood spatter on the walls. One of the phones the police found belonged to Maks, but she was nowhere in the house.
A detective came across Maks around 3:30 am while she was barefoot near a restaurant in Holly Hill. As the detective approached, Maks reportedly “dropped a knife and a hammer.” The detective noticed that there was blood on Maks’ leg and her shirt was torn.
Maks offered conflicting accounts while being questioned by the police. She initially claimed she had been homeless for four years. On being shown a photo of Cerasoli, she feigned ignorance at first but later admitted to having lived with him. She also contradicted herself about seeing the victim on the day he died.
Following her vacillating statements, Maks was finally arrested. She asserted that she never went into Cerasoli’s room, but claimed that she occasionally went upstairs to “feed her spiders.” She reportedly also grew “agitated” on the mention of the fire, and sought a lawyer.
Maks was later informed that there was a warrant for a DNA sample from her, following which she proceeded to ask for a Diet Mountain Dew, which the cops gave her. An affidavit said, according to The Mirror, “Maks began to resist and began pouring the can of soda all over her body and hair and pulling away from officers in attempts to interfere with the possible evidence on Maks’ body. Maks then began pulling and kicking officers while trying to secure Maks in the vehicle. Due to Maks’ actions, she was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest with violence.”
The DNA from blood on the knife found near Cerasoli matched the sample taken from the suspect, detectives said. At present, Maks is detained without bond. She is expected to face the court for her arraignment on September 5.
It is unclear if Mountain Dew can hide DNA evidence. However, a recent study by North Carolina State University claimed that sucralose, which is an ingredient that is used in the drink, might be able to damage DNA if ingested.
