Kevin Foster (murderer)

Background and murder

Foster was the leader of the Young Lords of Chaos, a self-styled teen militia group.

On April 30, 1996, Foster and three of the group's members — Chris Black, Pete Magnotti and Derek Shields, — went to the home of Riverdale High School music teacher Mark Schwebes at the behest of Black after Schwebes caught him and another boy preparing to tag the school hours earlier. Shields, who was in Schwebes' class, knocked on his door, and when Schwebes answered, Foster shot him twice with a shotgun, killing him.

Trial, conviction, and appeals

Foster was convicted of first-degree murder, and was sentenced to death; Magnotti was sentenced to 32 years in prison; Black and Shields were each sentenced to life in prison. Foster had declined a plea deal and advanced an alibi defense. Three other members of the Lords of Chaos group pleaded guilty in a deal in exchange for their testimony.

Foster and his mother were later convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for planning retaliation murders against the members of the Lords of Chaos who testified against him in the original trial. They were charged with the crime in 2000, after having approached author Jim Greenhill for help in the plan. Instead, Greenhill reported it to police. His mother was given five years in prison, and he was given an additional sentence concurrent with his death penalty.

Foster's appeal of his conviction in the original Lords of Chaos case was heard by the Florida Supreme Court and denied in 2000.

Foster returned to Lee County, Florida court in 2011 hoping to at least get a new penalty phase. This was based on a theory of inadequate representation, in particular that his counsel at the time did not present sufficient evidence about mental health defects. The court declined.

Media attention

The case was the subject of a 2006 episode of Dateline NBC. It was also the subject of the book Someone Has to Die Tonight by Jim Greenhill. The case is also mentioned on the Criminal Minds episode "3rd Life".