By TopTrendReportTv
July 26, 2024
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man who went to trial this week for the 2020 shooting death of his wife has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison by an Orange County judge.
Sylvester Ofori, 39, was convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm for the death of 27-year-old Barbara Tommey. Ofori shot her multiple times as she arrived for her shift at the Navy Federal Credit Union on Garden Parks Boulevard on the morning of September 8, 2020, according to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office. The three-day trial concluded on Thursday.
Ofori, a pastor at Flood Gates of Heaven Ministries in Orlando, was estranged from Tommey and they were in the process of filing for divorce at the time of the shooting, police said. According to Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office, Tommey’s brother was one of nearly a dozen witnesses for the prosecution, which also included employees and patrons of the credit union who saw the shooting.
Numerous credit union employees and customers witnessed the incident, and surveillance video provided by credit union officials showed Ofori arriving at the credit union, parking his vehicle, and following Tommey as she tried to escape. The video captured Ofori pistol-whipping and shooting Tommey, then shooting her three more times after she fell to the ground.
Orlando Police Department detectives interviewed Tommey’s family and coworkers, who confirmed past domestic violence incidents and the couple's recent separation. They also stated that Ofori had threatened to kill Tommey two days before the shooting and positively identified him in the surveillance footage. Detectives obtained a warrant and arrested Ofori at his apartment.
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