Nichole A. Maks (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
A 35-year-old woman in Florida was arrested more than a month after she allegedly killed her 79-year-old roommate, beating and stabbing him to death in the home they shared before setting the house on fire and fleeing the scene.
Nichole A. Maks was taken into custody on Saturday evening and charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of resisting arrest with violence in the slaying of Michael Cerasoli, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, authorities in Daytona Beach responded to an emergency call at about 1:46 a.m. on July 1, 2023, regarding a fire at a home in the 600 block of Clark Street. Once there, firefighters found a man lying on the floor in a second-story bedroom of the home. The victim appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma to the back of his head and multiple stab wounds.
Police responded to the scene and recovered a bloody knife near the victim’s body and two cellphones. Blood spatter was also located on the walls. Police say that one of the phones belonged to Maks, who was not there when firefighters arrived. Police put out a bulletin stating that Maks was a person of interest in the investigation.
About 3:30 a.m., a detective spotted a shoeless Maks at a restaurant in Holly Hill. When he made contact, she allegedly “dropped a knife and a hammer” in his presence. The detective noted that Mak appeared to have blood on her leg and on her ripped shirt.
When asked where she lived, Maks allegedly dissembled for a bit before claiming that she had been living on the streets for the last four years. She was then shown a photo of Cerasoli and “denied knowing the victim.”
When pressed about whether she knew him, she allegedly conceded that she did live with him for a little while, but claimed she’d only seen him “a handful of times,” and denied seeing him at all on the day he was killed. She then changed her story again, saying she was not homeless and currently lived in the residence with the victim and was there earlier in the day.
Due to her inconsistent statements about the victim, Maks was taken into custody.
In her post-Miranda interview, Maks allegedly claimed she’d never been in the victim’s room but would sometimes go to the second floor of the home to “feed her spiders.”
Maks initially denied having a knife and hammer on her when spotted by police before allegedly confessing to possessing the items. When asked about the fire, police said Maks became “agitated” and asked for an attorney.
A short time later, police told Maks they had a warrant and would take a sample of her DNA. Maks then requested a Diet Mountain Dew, which was provided.
“Maks began to procrastinate while drinking the soft drink then when [a detective] attempted to grab the can of soda from Maks’ hands,” the affidavit states. “Maks began to resist and began pouring the can of soda all over her body and hair and pulling away from officers in attempts to interfere with the possible evidence on Maks’ body. Maks then began pulling and kicking officers while trying to secure Maks in the vehicle. Due to Maks’ actions, she was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest with violence.”
Detectives said the DNA from blood on the knife found next to the victim matched the sample taken from Maks.
She is being held without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on Sept. 5.
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