In 2022, Steven R. Inge was slapped with a life sentence for murdering Jorge Diaz-Johnston, the brother of a prominent Florida LGBTQ advocate and former Miami mayor. The jury in Leon County found him guilty of first-degree murder, manipulation of evidence, grand theft auto, burglary, and misuse of a personal identification number.
The judge swiftly handed down the verdict, and CNN requested a comment from Inge's attorney regarding the sentence. The body of Jorge Diaz-Johnston was discovered in a landfill in January 2022, some days after he was last seen. The police suspected that he was strangled and his body was wrapped in a sack and thrown into a trash bin at his home.
The jury indicted Inge for allegedly strangling Jorge Diaz-Johnston between January 3 and 5 of that year. According to court documents, Inge was the wife's lover of Jorge Diaz-Johnston's husband, Don Diaz-Johnston, who reported his husband missing to the police. Don Diaz-Johnston told the police that Inge had planned to leave since they weren't getting along.
Don Diaz-Johnston expressed his anger in 2022, saying, "I'm furious. I've tried for years to get him back, only for him to be taken away from me for such a trivial reason." He added that his deceased husband had met Inge in an alcohol rehabilitation program after separating from Jorge.
Don Diaz-Johnston told WPLG in 2022, "Jorge didn't get charged rent and he had no expectations, he just stayed until he found a job and could afford a living."
Don Diaz-Johnston thanked the Tallahassee Police Department investigators who handled his husband's case in a statement following the verdict and sentencing. "I am grateful for your efforts, which are truly exemplary investigative work, and the Tallahassee community should be extremely proud of your accomplishments," he said.
Jorge and Don Diaz-Johnston were among six couples who filed a lawsuit against Florida's same-sex marriage ban in Miami-Dade County in 2014. A judge in the Miami-Dade County District Court ruled in favor of the couple in 2015.
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