Killer Remains on Death Row: Appeal Denied

Kevin Foster remains on death row after the Florida Supreme Court denied his latest appeal.

Foster was the ringleader of the “Lords of Chaos”, a self-proclaimed militia group whose purpose was to create disorder through criminal acts in the Fort Myers community. He was convicted in 1998 of the First Degree Murder of Mark Schwebes, a Riverdale High School music teacher and sentenced to death.

In April 1996, Schwebes caught Foster and other members of the group preparing to vandalize the high school and set the auditorium on fire. Schwebes instructed them to leave and told them that he would report the incident to the resource officer the following day.

The group, at the direction and insistence of Foster, then planned the murder of Schwebes. They tracked down where he lived and went to Schwebes’ home. They knocked on the front door and when Schwebes answered Foster shot him twice, once in the face and once in the pelvis. Mark Schwebes died as a result. 

The three other members who were present that night entered into plea agreements. Christopher Black and Derek Shields were sentenced to life in prison. Peter Magnotti was sentenced to 32 years in prison.


Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao20.org