Accused in-law killer, Marisol Best avoids facing death penalty

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Murder defendant Marisol Best was handed the gift of life from an unlikely source during a hearing Thursday.

Hillsborough State Prosecutor Ron Gale made the announcement, the state of Florida has withdrawn its intent to seek the death penalty against Best.

She's accused of joining her in-laws in prayer and then killing them.

Best was facing the death penalty if convicted, but not anymore.

Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Michelle Sisco tried to get an explanation from prosecutors about the decision.

"So, was the death penalty, was there not a plea negotiation that's been reached? The state just unilaterally withdrew its notice?" Judge Sisco asked.

Gale didn't give a reason why the state was dropping the death penalty, but now it's off the table two months before her trial.

Newly-released documents, however, reveal there almost wasn't a trial.

Back in 2015, Best tried to commit suicide in jail by slashing her wrists.

She later told detectives she didn't want to testify against her husband, Robert Best, who faces child sex charges in Polk County.

Those charges may be part of the reason Best killed her in-laws, according to police. After initially denying the murders, Best later told investigators she was angry at her in-laws for criticizing their son over his legal troubles.

It would be Robert Best who would find his parents' bodies. 

"I looked and I could see my mom laying on the floor," Robert Best said through tears. "She was dead. There was blood everywhere and I turned and I saw my father and I checked him and I just left."

Marisol Best's trial is set for July.