The trial began in September 2006. Prosecutors claimed that McWatters was a calculating killer, who lured in his victims with promises of drugs and alcohol, and that he remembered everything. McWatters’ attorneys claimed that McWatters only confessed because he enjoyed attention, but that he didn't kill any of the victims. Ultimately he was found guilty and sentenced to death on December 4, 2006. For the next eight years, McWatters remained on Florida's death row awaiting execution. In 2014, a judge awarded McWatters a new trial, on the grounds that his original defense team did a poor job. In the new trial, McWatters pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015.
