Death penalty to be sought against man accused of killing family in Chuluota

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of killing his parents and his brother in their Chuluota home will face the death penalty, according to the State Attorney's Office. 

A notice of intent to seek the death penalty was filed against Grant Amato, 29, on Thursday, two days after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of first-degree murder. 

Deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said that Amato fatally shot Chad Amato, 59, and Margaret Amato, 61, and his brother, Cody Amato, 31, on Jan. 25.

Records show that Amato had argued with his family in the days leading up to the shooting because he had stolen $200,000 to wire to a Bulgarian cam girl with whom he had an online relationship.

Prosecutors described the killings as cold and calculated.

"The decision to seek the death penalty came after careful consideration of the evidence that proves Amato acted in a 'cold, calculated and premeditated manner, without any pretense of moral or legal justification.' A second aggravating factor was his prior conviction for a felony offense that involved the threat or use of violence toward the victim(s)," officials from the State Attorney's Office wrote in a news release.