CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The jury that found a Clay County contractor guilty on Monday of killing his client in 2019 recommended a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for 49-year-old Corey Binderim.
Binderim was facing the death penalty. At least eight jurors had to agree before they could recommend that Binderim be sent to Death Row.
After almost five hours of deliberating, seven jurors recommended death while five recommended life in prison.
An alternate juror told News4JAX the jury wasn’t sympathetic to Binderim, but they did feel sympathy for his two adult daughters, who shared a statement asking the jury for mercy.
“So the jury, as you heard, agreed with the state of Florida’s assessment that there were aggravating circumstances of this murder, which made it qualify for the death penalty. The jury also has the province of granting mercy. And the defense in this case, the defendant has two daughters who asked the jury to grant murder mercy, and they did,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson said. “We really appreciate the jury’s significant service on this case, and he will, as you know, he will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and he’ll spend the rest of his natural life in Florida State Prison.”
Binderim was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary, and evidence tampering on Monday in the 2019 death of 65-year-old Susan Mauldin at her Fleming Island Home.
Mauldin hired Binderim as a contractor to do home remodeling in 2018, but after paying him $12,000 and with the project left unfinished for months, she threatened to call the police if he didn’t pay her back. That’s when he strangled her and took her body to a landfill, prosecutors said.
The prosecution argued that Binderim deserves the death penalty because the crime was premeditated, committed for financial gain and to avoid arrest and because he had a previous felony conviction. Binderim was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated battery with a gun in connection to a shooting when he was 17 years old.
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After Mauldin‘s friends shared victim impact statements on Wednesday about what it was like to lose the British native from their lives, Binderim’s defense spent hours presenting testimony about their client’s background, drug use, and brain injuries.
Defense testimony
The defense asked the jury to take note of a family history of mental illness, Binderim’s attempts to self-medicate with cocaine, his rough childhood, and brain damage from more than five concussions, some of them from playing football in high school.
A neurologist presented scans of Binderim’s brain, testifying traumatic injury had led to CTE, which is a disease that can lead to behavior changes and issues with impulse control.
Binderim’s family members asked the jury for mercy. His two adult daughters, who were not in court Wednesday, provided a statement that was read by a representative.
“He wanted to impart to us the importance of education and making good decisions,” they said. “Teaching us these lessons at an early age showed us how much he loved us. Dad tried his best to lead by example and steer us toward success and happiness, which is one reason this tragic crime has been so hard for us to understand. We cannot imagine dad hurting anyone. He has never been violent. He has been a protective and loving father to us throughout our lives.”
Victim impact statements
The court also heard from friends of the victim for the first time about what it was like losing her.
Known as Sue, she was originally from Britain. At the time of her death, she was a widow with no family in the area, but she was surrounded by a supportive community of friends. She was part of the British Club, a garden club, and a knitting circle, and she loved her cat, Jags football, gardening, and entertaining.
Her friends remembered her as generous, kind and a true friend.
“To know Sue was to love Sue,” said her friend Phyllis Yates.
“The emotional toll of this is not something that fades with time,” said Mauldin’s friend Christine Wright. “It’s a permanent scar that I’ve got to carry with me. She was not just a victim. She was someone full of life with so much still ahead of her. There were plans left unfinished, things still were on her bucket list.”
One of Binderim’s defense attorneys told News4JAX they will be appealing the first-degree murder conviction.
Binderim’s formal sentencing before the judge is set for Oct. 29.