The Heather Strong murder case is the 2009 killing of a 26-year-old Marion County, Florida mother who was lured to a storage trailer, bound to a chair with duct tape, and suffocated by her estranged husband, Joshua Fulgham, and his girlfriend, Emilia Carr. Both were convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping. Fulgham received life in prison. Carr was sentenced to death, but that sentence was later vacated, and she is now also serving life without parole.
The Relationship Behind the Killing
Heather Strong and Joshua Fulgham had been together on and off for roughly a decade before marrying on December 26, 2008. The marriage was already violent. Strong had sought domestic violence injunctions against Fulgham at least twice, in September 2008 and January 2009. That same January, Fulgham was arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm after threatening Strong with a shotgun. He spent time in jail, and Strong later asked that the charge be dropped.1The Gainesville Sun. Reports Shed New Light on Heather Strong Slaying
Emilia Carr had reportedly been engaged to Fulgham about a month before he married Strong. Carr was a regular presence in the household and often babysat Strong’s two children. By early 2009, Strong and Fulgham were legally married but estranged, and Carr was occupying an increasingly central role in Fulgham’s life.2Justia. Carr v. State
The Disappearance and the Grave
On February 15, 2009, Strong left work telling coworkers she needed to handle something involving her children. No one saw her again. Her absence went unreported for nine days. On February 24, her cousin contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and a missing persons investigation opened.
Fulgham had not reported his wife missing. Court records show his mother had prepared a document, apparently at his request, for Strong to sign over custody of the two children. Fulgham produced that document, purportedly signed by Strong, and used it within days to enroll one of the children in a new school near his mother’s home.3Supreme Court of Florida. Initial Brief of Appellant – Emilia Carr v. State of Florida
Investigators pressed both Fulgham and Carr, whose stories were riddled with inconsistencies. On March 18, 2009, Fulgham broke and admitted he knew where Strong’s body was. He directed detectives to property belonging to Carr’s mother. The next day, authorities excavated a shallow grave and recovered Strong’s remains. Cause of death was asphyxiation. She had been duct-taped to a chair inside a storage trailer on the property.1The Gainesville Sun. Reports Shed New Light on Heather Strong Slaying
What Happened Inside the Trailer
The clearest account of the killing came from Carr’s own mouth. On March 24, 2009, Fulgham’s sister, Michele Gustafson, agreed to wear a recording device and spoke with Carr in a car. Carr described how Strong had been lured to the trailer with a promise of cash. Fulgham was angry because Strong had been planning to leave the state with the two children.
Once inside, Carr said, Fulgham hit Strong in the head with a flashlight whenever “he heard something he didn’t want to hear.” Strong tried to escape by breaking a window. Fulgham and Carr overpowered her and duct-taped her to a chair. Carr described attempts to break Strong’s neck before suffocating her with a black plastic bag placed over her head.
When Gustafson asked whether Carr had helped, Carr answered, “Yeah, I helped. I helped him.” She also said she had expected the killing to be “quick and painless.” The recording drove Carr’s arrest and became the prosecution’s most damaging evidence at her trial.
The Trials and the Split in Sentences
Both defendants were charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, and prosecutors sought the death penalty against each. They were tried separately.2Justia. Carr v. State
Carr’s trial came first, in December 2010. The state framed the murder as a jealousy-driven love triangle. Her recorded confession was played for the jury. After roughly two hours, jurors found her guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping. During the penalty phase, the jury recommended death by a 7-5 vote. In February 2011, Circuit Judge Willard Pope accepted that recommendation and sentenced Carr to death, placing her among the few women on Florida’s death row.3Supreme Court of Florida. Initial Brief of Appellant – Emilia Carr v. State of Florida
Fulgham’s trial followed in April 2012. On April 12, 2012, jurors convicted him of first-degree murder and kidnapping. In his penalty phase, the jury recommended life in prison over death by an 8-4 vote. He was sentenced to life without parole.
Two people participated in the same killing. One faced execution, the other did not. Carr’s recorded admissions, in which she described the killing in her own words, gave her jury material Fulgham’s jury never had against him in the same form.
Why Carr Is No Longer on Death Row
Carr’s death sentence was undone by a change in the law, not a change in the facts. In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hurst v. Florida, holding that Florida’s death penalty sentencing scheme violated the Sixth Amendment because it let judges independently find the aggravating circumstances required for a death sentence rather than requiring the jury to find them.4Justia. Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. 92 (2016)
In October 2016, the Florida Supreme Court applied that ruling in Hurst v. State and went further, holding that a jury’s death recommendation had to be unanimous.5Justia. Hurst v. State Carr’s 7-5 recommendation could not stand under that rule.
Rather than hold a new penalty phase, prosecutors agreed to resentencing. In 2017, Judge Pope resentenced Emilia Carr to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the same sentence Fulgham was already serving.
Florida has since moved away from the unanimity requirement. As of 2026, state law permits a death sentence based on a jury vote of 8-4, one of the lowest thresholds in the country. Even under that reduced standard, Carr’s original 7-5 vote would not qualify.
What Happened to the Children
Heather and Joshua Fulgham’s two children lost their mother to murder and their father to a life sentence. Testimony during Carr’s appeal indicated the family was ultimately forced to place the children in adoptive homes.3Supreme Court of Florida. Initial Brief of Appellant – Emilia Carr v. State of Florida
Carr gave birth while in custody in May 2009. The baby was healthy and was placed in foster care shortly after delivery.