ORLANDO, Fla. – Julie Jefferson Sulpizio, charged with murder and other charges in an ambush attack on three Lake County deputies, made her first court appearance while on suicide watch at the Lake County jail.
News 6 on Tuesday was told that Sulpizio was wearing a “suicide smock” during her court appearance from a jail cell.
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She faces charges, including first-degree murder on a law enforcement officer, in the ambush attack on deputies that killed Master Deputy Bradley Link and injured Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano and Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell.
Officials with the jail said they use the smocks for inmates who are on suicide watch to prevent them from harming themselves.
In total, Sulpizio faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder on a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder and four counts of battery. She was arrested around 1:45 p.m. Monday at the AdventHealth Waterman Hospital in Tavares, and she is being held without bond.
The three deputies were shot late Friday in the area of County Road 439, near Brookside Drive, north of State Road 44. Lake County Master Deputy Bradley Michael Link, 28, died of his injuries, while Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano was shot and critically injured, and Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell was shot and wounded.
Lt. John Herrell on Monday told News 6 more about the family at the center of the attack.
Herrell said Julie Jefferson Sulpizio and her husband, Michael Sulpizio, kept to themselves and had very few occasions to call police.
He said they encountered Julie Jefferson Sulpizio first late Friday night.
“This lady (Julie) then sent them to this house under the guise of conducting a well-being check,” Herrell said on Saturday. “She said something to the effect that you need to go down to this house and check on the people there, so the deputies went down to this house, and it appeared that the house had been burglarized. In fact, they thought they had a possible burglary in progress. As they were posting up on the house, they could hear commotion inside. They tried to order the people out. No one came out, so at that point, they made entry of the home at which time they were immediately met with heavy, heavy gunfire.”
Herrell said the shooters were the woman’s husband and two daughters – Michael Sulpizio, 48; Cheyenne, 23; and Savannah, 22.