Suspect used wine bottle to beat his landlord to death after being kicked out, Florida cops say
A retired Florida nurse who opened his home to a 19-year-old he believed needed help was allegedly stabbed with a knife and beaten to death with a wine bottle after telling the young man to move out for not paying rent, authorities said.
John Torneo, 67, had allowed Julian Trevino to live in his Davenport-area home since September, but last week, told him to leave for not paying rent or helping around the house, neighbors told officials. Days later, Torneo was found brutally murdered inside his home, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Julian Trevino was arrested Monday and charged with murder. At a press conference the same day, Judd laid out details of the killing.
He said it all began when a neighbor contacted the sheriff’s office after not seeing Torneo for several days and was worried after receiving strange messages from his phone.
A deputy responded to the home where he used the sheriff’s office real-time crime center to check Torneo’s vehicle, which appeared to be traveling south on Highway 27. The neighbor, who had a key to the house, let themselves inside, but said no one appeared to be home. Believing Torneo was simply not there, the deputy cleared the call and left.
The neighbor kept trying to reach Torneo after they heard his beloved dog barking inside. The neighbors later returned to the house and found a bedroom door locked. Inside, they found Torneo dead, authorities said.
Judd described the scene as horrific, saying Torneo was found “dead, disemboweled, eviscerated on the floor,” Law&Crime reported.
Investigators quickly focused on Trevino after discovering Torneo’s credit cards had been used at a Circle K and another “at the pizza restaurant [where] he worked as a dishwasher.”
“I got to tell you, Helen Keller could have followed the leads this guy left,” Judd said. “This is what we call a slow-pitch criminal investigation.”
Deputies found Torneo’s vehicle and around 4 a.m. Monday, and saw Trevino get into the car. When they tried to take him into custody, he fled in the vehicle.
“In his urge to get away from us, he ran into a ditch, crashed the car, jumped out and ran on foot,” Judd said.
Detectives quickly caught and arrested him. Judd said Trevino confessed to the killing, telling them: “I was really angry when he put me out of the house and now, I’m having to live in a shed by a friend’s house. I didn’t want to go away from my girlfriend.”
According to investigators, Trevino said he broke into Torneo’s home through a bathroom window early Sunday and hid in a closet. When Torneo went to bed, Trevino allegedly was grabbing cash and credit cards when Torneo woke up and confronted him.
“Our victim confronts Julian and says, ‘You’re not supposed to be here,’” Judd said.
Trevino told detectives he shoved Torneo onto the bed, ran to the kitchen for a butcher knife, and stabbed him repeatedly.
“He eviscerated him,” Judd said.
Trevino then allegedly grabbed a bottle of wine from a cooler in Torneo’s bedroom and continued the attack.
“He took a wine bottle… and beat him in the head with it until he was dead,” Judd said.
Trevino then threw the knife and wine bottle into a nearby creek, where they were later found.
Neighbors described Torneo as kind and generous.
“Sometimes when you are nice to evil people, they kill you,” Judd said. “Here’s what’s difficult to understand. John thought he was helping a kid who was homeless. Julian Trevino did not have a criminal record. John, who was a retired nurse and helped so many people along life’s way and was a great neighbor, did not have a criminal record.”
“He will be missed. He’ll be missed,” neighbor Louise Jutras added.
Trevino faces 14 felony charges, including first-degree murder, robbery, and credit card fraud.
He is being held without bond at the South County Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for January 20, 2026.
