News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 25

INCORPORATION STUDY FOR PINE ISLAND IS COMPLETE Members of civic association holding slcn0H off on incorporation for time being B3 LOCAL St STATE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2006 THE NEWS-PRESS "The insanity ruling helped me, but I want people to know I didn't come away without MOT Juanita Maxwell, 50, who suffers from multiple personality disorder SB Not guilty and, finally, moving on to County commissioners to hold public hearing March 14 BY JAMIE PAGE Boca Grande residents next month will get a chance to comment on whether they want to pay extra taxes to eradicate the island's large iguana populatioa Lee County com- IGUANA FACTS ANDREW WESTTHE NEWS-PRESS Juanita Maxwell El Amin, 50, of St. Petersburg sits for a portrait in The News-Press studio. Maxwell, formerly of Fort Myers, was absolved of murder 25 years ago by reason of insanity. 25 years later, Juanita Maxwell and seven alter egos 'cool' missioners Monday set a public hearing for March 14 to gauge the idea of creating a Gasparilla Island Municipal Service Taxing Unit Many residents have told county officials they would be willing to pay to get the iguana population under control The lizards estimated to number more than 10,000 in south Florida are not native to Boca Grande, which is on the barrier island of Gasparilla. Iguanas have become an enemy to some residents, who say they often find them inside their home, nesting in crawl spaces, shredding attic insulation, scratching holes in screens and siding and eating new flower buds.

The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association's board recently proposed expanding the island's Streetlight-ing taxing district to include invasive exotic animal species control, said Misty Nabers, executive director of the association. See IGUANAS B2 SAM COOK 1 3k t- tv Common name: Mexican spiny-tailed iguana Natural range. Arid regions of coastal western Mexico Colonies: Gasparilla Island, Biscayne Bay, Cameron Countyr Texas Preferred habitat Areas with deep, sandy soil, rock piles, brush piles and abandoned buildings Maximum size: 48 inches from nose to tip of tail; 13 inches from nose to base of tail Diet Vegetation, leaves, grass, fruit, flowers, insects Reproduction: Can reproduce in second year of life; females lay an average of 35 eggs per nest Behavior Wary of humans, will hide if approached; bobs head for territorial and breeding displays SOURCE: THE NEWS-PRESS RESEARCH A Editor's note: Sunday's column examined the bizarre, sensational and unprecedented 1981 murder trial of Fort Myers native Juanita Maxwell Today, three participants in that trial reflect on the aftermath. Juanita Maxwell, ruled not guilty by reason of insanity in a landmark murder trial 25 years ago, doesn't want folks to get the wrong impression. "The insanity ruling helped me, but I want people to know I didn't come away without suffering," says Maxwell, 50.

"How in the hell do you get off when you spent eight years in a mental center like Chattahoochee? I paid a huge price." She lost custody of three young children, who went to live with a relative in Ohio. She spent three years in Pinellas County Jail for robbing two banks in St Petersburg. She lives with the stigma of killing a woman in 1979. Til never forget March 1979. Never," Maxwell says.

'It's always on my mind. I have a stain on me I can't get off." Maxwell, born and raised in Fort Myers, says accepting her multiple personality disorder was a difficult adjustment 'When they told me I had all these different parts, I thought they were crazy," she says. "If hand to tell a person who's crazy that they're crazy because they won't believe you." Maxwell worked as a maid at Palmland Motel on First Street in Fort Myers when she was charged with the brutal slaying of motel resident Inez Kelly, 73. Two years later, she went to trial using an insanity defense. During testimony, state mental health therapist Alan Klein THE NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS Above, Juanita Maxwell, left, pats Riley Henderson, a discharge planner with the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee, after being released in 1987.

7 I See COOK B2 Proposed hotels double rooms in Cape OF ANOTHER TRIAL At left, Maxwell displays her nursing assistant's certificate in 1995. She lost her certification as part of a state law to protect the elderly. squabbled over a video game in 2002. Maxwell then 25, of Fort Myers was charged with killing Inez Kelly in 1979. Maxwell was ruled not guilty by reason of insanity in 1981 by Lee County Circuit Judge Hugh Stames, the first such ruling in Florida history.

When the Mario Alberto Lopez insanity plea murder trial ended in a mistrial last month, it brought back memories of the Juanita Maxwell murder trial 25 years ago. Lopez, 15, of Cape Coral was charged with stabbing his 15-year-old friend Joey Martins 151 times after they Naples' oldest home to move north CORRECTION The 68th annual Stadium and Fireworks Show is Saturday, Feb. 18. The wrong date was listed in a correction in Monday's Local State section. Hampton Inn is at 619 S.E.

47th Terrace in Cape Coral. The address was incorrect in a story in Tuesday's Local and State BY PETE SKIBA If developers have their way, the number of hotel rooms in Cape Coral could more than double within a few years. To make the Community Redevelopment Area the major player in the hospitality industry, the area's board on Tuesday sent a zoning change to be mapped by city staff to allow for a 224-room condominium hotel. It also supported a developer in his proposal to build a boutique-style hotel in the emerging downtown. The redevelopment agency board unanimously voted to put the million project into the Gateway zone, one of three in the redevelopment area.

That zone allows the hotel to be built to 12 stories if it meets criteria set by the city. 'Just because it is in the Gateway zone doesn't mean it will be approved," said city planner Rick SosnowskL "The developer must follow the process and show the development is to the city's benefit" The redevelopment area covers Cape Coral's downtown business district The area runs from See CAPE HOTELS B2 Bonita Springs will be new location for Haldeman House BY DENES HUSTY III Workers could begin carving up the oldest house in Naples as early as next week before moving it to Bonita Springs. The move of the 120-year-old Haldeman House should take place in about two months, said Christian Busk, who plans to restore the house and lease it as a home. A landscape architect by trade, Busk acquires and restores historic Southwest Florida homes. The latest landmark home to be saved from the wrecking ball by Busk is the Haldeman House.

The house was built by Confederate army Gen. John Stuart Williams and later acquired by Naples pioneer and owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper, Walter Newman Haldeman. The two men helped found Naples with the Naples Town Improvement Co. that created the community. The property the historic home sits on at the foot of the Naples Fishing Pier was sold last year by HaJdeman's family.

It appeared the house, which had weathered several hurricanes and the ravages of time, was doomed. See OLD HOUSE B2 CONTACT US Steve McQuiikin, Executive Metro Editor 335-0352 10 ara-7 p.m. Monday-Friday Delivery problems: 335-0233 or (800) 468-0233; If you don't receive your paper, please call our Customer Service office before 10 a.m. weekdays and before 11 a.m. weekends and holidays.

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