A convicted killer giggled in a Florida courtroom on Tuesday as the judge delivering his fate described in horrific detail how he brutally stabbed his cellmate in the brain with a pen. Marcus Terry, 43, had just learned he would spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2021 killing of his 64-year-old cellmate Ray Matos inside the Dade Correctional Institution in Homestead.
Judge Ellen Sue Venzer paused and questioned his laughter: “I’m not sure why you’re laughing,” she said, as Terry continued to grin, according to NBC6. “You are amusing,” Terry said from the defense table, still smiling. “I found nothing amusing about your behavior or the death of this gentleman,” Venzer replied.
In December 2025, a jury found Terry guilty of second-degree murder for killing Matos inside their jail cell in 2021. The two men had only been cellmates for less than a week when the attack happened. Prison guards found Matos lying in a pool of blood while Terry sat nearby on the lower bunk, according to an arrest warrant.
Terry, who was already serving a life sentence for armed burglary and armed robbery at the time of the killing, returned to court on Tuesday to learn his fate. His attorney, Steven Yermish, asked Judge Venzer to grant a new trial, arguing that inadmissible evidence had been presented to jurors. The judge denied the motion and moved forward with sentencing.
Venzer described how Terry attacked Matos inside their shared cell, overcoming him with a pillowcase before pushing a pen into his brain, killing him. “He shoved a pillowcase into his mouth,” Venzer said. “When the guards came in to find out what was going on, he was standing on top of this man, and his hand was bloodied.” Venzer sentenced Terry to life in prison without the possibility of parole, telling him: “God have mercy on your soul.” Terry now has the right to appeal.
