[chris]

Jean Robert Macean pleaded no contest to the murders of Brenda and Terry Aultman on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Daytona Beach, Florida, killings.

Terry Aultman, 48, and Brenda Aultman, 55, were a married couple from Daytona Beach. Early on Sunday, March 6, 2022, they were riding their bicycles home from Daytona Bike Week events when they were attacked on Wild Olive Avenue. Their bodies were found in the grass beside the road, with their bicycles nearby. Police said both had multiple stab wounds and both had their throats slashed.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young called it one of the most brutal murders he had seen in more than 20 years as a police officer. State Attorney R.J. Larizza said that for whatever reason the defendant appeared to have just picked the two out. No motive was reported.

Detectives received more than 100 tips, and the department offered a $50,000 reward. Investigators tracked Macean through his credit card use. Macean was 32 when he was arrested at an address in Orlando, Florida, at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 10, 2022. The U.S. Marshals, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Orlando Police Department helped take him into custody.

A detective read Macean his rights at the scene, and he agreed to speak. The recorded interview shows further questioning after the arrest, with the detective telling him police have physical evidence and know he did it. Police said he confessed to the killings during questioning on the night of March 10. A judge ordered him held without bond on March 11. On March 29, 2022, the State Attorney's Office announced his indictment on two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty. In early 2023, a judge found Macean not competent to stand trial, citing an unspecified psychosis, and placed him in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families for treatment. The ruling was reported on February 14, 2023. It concerned his fitness to stand trial and was not a verdict. A formal evaluation in May 2023 found his competency restored. After his attorney raised a claim of intellectual disability, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn ruled him competent in November 2023.

The defense filed notice that it would raise an insanity defense at trial, but the case never went to trial. Prosecutors filed a motion to waive the death penalty in March 2025. At sentencing, his defense attorney read a statement apologizing for the killings and saying he was suffering from mental illness at the time. No appeal has been reported.

[chris]

Part 2 of 4 of the recording described above.

[chris]

Part 3 of 4 of the recording described above.

[chris]

Part 4 of 4 of the recording described above.