Fort Myers double murder suspect appears in court as victims' families grieve

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A man charged with two Fort Myers murders appeared in court for a pretrial hearing on Monday.

Rolbert Joachin is accused of strangling 28-year-old Julia Curvo in January and beating Fort Myers gas station clerk, 48-year-old Nilufa Easmin, to death with a mallet in April. His pretrial hearing on the murder of Curvo started last week but had to be delayed due to an issue with his representation.

Joachin met with his new attorney, Lee Hollander, for the first time during his hearing. On Friday, he filed a written plea of not guilty for the second-degree murder of Curvo.

Joachin is already in custody with no bond, accused of a first-degree murder charge in the death of Easmin. The judge determined he would also be held on no bond for Curvo's case.

For 25 years, Sandra Stephens has cherished a shirt bearing a childhood photo of her granddaughter Julia Curvo. She wore it to the Lee County Courthouse in honor of her 28-year-old granddaughter.

"She had an infectious smile; it was beautiful," Stephens said.

Stephens faced the man accused of taking her granddaughter's life—40-year-old Rolbert Joachin. It was the first time Stephens saw him in person.

"It was very hard seeing him in real life and knowing what he did to my granddaughter," Stephens said. "He did a horrible thing to her, and she didn't deserve it."

Joachin's pretrial hearing was quick, as he was already in custody for a separate Fort Myers murder. He's accused of killing Easmin with a mallet outside a Fort Myers gas station.

Hollander, Joachin's attorney, spoke with WINK News about what happened in Monday's hearing and what comes next.

"This was a detention hearing on the motion by the State to detain him pretrial," Hollander said. "He's already been detained in the other case, so we really didn't want to waste time here, because it wouldn't have meant anything, so we're just going to have to see what happens from here on. His arraignment on this case, which is the alleged murder of a girl in January is August 3."

Hollander says he has been preparing for the case since he was assigned it on Thursday, and is now waiting on the State to send evidence their team has collected.

"Once you read the arrest affidavits, it wasn't much more in the file that I could access," Hollander said. "I have to wait for the State to send me discovery."

Through her grief, Stephens also brings strength into the courtroom—something she plans to continue.

"I plan to be here every time, because Julia deserves it," Stephens said. "She was a human being, and she didn't deserve to die."

Joachin's next court date is set for August 3.

WINK News will continue to provide updates in both active court cases, when they become available.