Florida Man Convicted of Murder After Showing Body to Friends

Amer Ejak was convicted in the 2009 death of Thomas Johannesen.

A 20-year-old Tampa man has been found guilty of first-degree murder after he showed the victim's body to friends, officials said.

Amer Ejak was convicted for the September 2009 death of Thomas Johannesen, a 34-year-old father, according to the State Attorney's Office in Hillsborough County.

Ejak, 16 at the time, and his friend Christopher Cox, who was 22 at the time, were inside Johannesen's apartment when Cox told Ejak to strike Johannesen in the head with a whiskey bottle, said a 2009 Hillsborough Sheriff's Office press release.

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Officials said Ejak and Cox moved Johannesen onto the couch after he fell. Ejak placed a plastic bag over Johannesen's head and a belt around his neck, strangling and killing him, the release said.

The two then hid Johannesen in his closet, placing items over his body, and stole his cell phone, house keys and Adidas sneakers before leaving the apartment, officials said.

Sometime later, Cox and Ejak asked two friends if they had ever seen a dead body, the release said. They then took their friends to the apartment and showed them Johannesen's body, according to authorities.

Cox and Ejak were arrested and charged with first degree murder the following day after their friends came forward with the information, the release said.

A judge is set to sentence Ejak on Sept. 3.

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