Lee Rodarte is a former Jacksonville restaurant manager who killed 21-year-old Savannah Gold, his co-worker and on-again, off-again girlfriend, in the parking lot of the Bonefish Grill on San Jose Boulevard on August 2, 2017. After a failed Stand Your Ground defense delayed his case for years, Rodarte pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in February 2021 and was sentenced to 40 years in Florida state prison.1Jacksonville.com. Lee Rodarte Sentenced for Jacksonville Co-Worker Savannah Gold
What Happened in the Bonefish Grill Parking Lot
Gold, a server at the restaurant in Jacksonville’s Mandarin neighborhood, arrived for her shift around 5:30 p.m. on August 2, 2017. Instead of going inside, she got into the passenger seat of a car belonging to Rodarte, then a 28-year-old manager at the same restaurant.2News4Jax. 3 Days Between Gold’s Disappearance, Body Found
Parking lot surveillance cameras captured what happened next. At about 5:45 p.m., the car began shaking violently, consistent with a struggle inside. Gold was never seen leaving the vehicle. Rodarte later stepped out, walked to Gold’s car, punctured one of her tires, and drove away at 6:04 p.m.2News4Jax. 3 Days Between Gold’s Disappearance, Body Found
About half an hour after Gold was due at work, her father received a text from her phone saying she was “running away with a great guy.” Her parents recognized the message as out of character and suspected it was fake. Police later determined Rodarte had sent it from Gold’s phone.3WSBTV. Police: Co-Worker Admits to Killing 21-Year-Old, Dumping Body1Jacksonville.com. Lee Rodarte Sentenced for Jacksonville Co-Worker Savannah Gold
How Investigators Caught Him
Gold’s mother called police at 7:12 p.m. that same evening when her daughter did not come home. Officers found Gold’s car and purse still in the Bonefish Grill parking lot, along with the slashed tire. Over the next two days, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators interviewed co-workers and pulled the surveillance footage, which contradicted the account Rodarte had given them.2News4Jax. 3 Days Between Gold’s Disappearance, Body Found
Detectives arrested Rodarte at the restaurant on Saturday, August 5, 2017, around 7:15 p.m. Confronted with the discrepancies, he confessed to killing Gold and told officers where he had left her body. A JSO dive team recovered human remains that night from a lake at the end of Club Duclay Drive in west Jacksonville, three days after she disappeared. Rodarte was booked on murder and third-degree evidence tampering.4News4Jax. Police: Co-Worker Admits Killing 21-Year-Old, Dumping Body3WSBTV. Police: Co-Worker Admits to Killing 21-Year-Old, Dumping Body
What the Autopsy Showed
Medical examiner Dr. Peter Gillespie classified Gold’s death as a “violent homicide” but could not determine an exact cause. Her body had second- and third-degree burns over roughly 75 percent of its surface, which complicated the examination. Gillespie later testified he had found an injury to cartilage in Gold’s neck that he called “serious but not life-threatening” and potentially consistent with strangulation, though the spinal cord was not severed and the injury would not have caused instant death.5News4Jax. Bonefish Grill Employee’s Death Was Violent Homicide, Autopsy Shows6News4Jax. Autopsy Findings Examined in Death of Bonefish Grill Worker
The Failed Stand Your Ground Defense
Rodarte’s attorneys moved to dismiss the murder charge under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, arguing self-defense. Rodarte claimed Gold attacked him during an argument in his car and that when he grabbed her neck to break her grip he “heard and felt a pop.”7Jacksonville.com. Lee Rodarte Enters Plea Deal in Jacksonville Death of Savannah Gold
The trial court denied the motion. Rodarte appealed to Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, and the resulting stay delayed the trial for more than a year. On January 27, 2021, the appellate court denied his petition on the merits, finding “competent, substantial evidence supports the trial court’s decision” that the state had shown Rodarte was not entitled to immunity.8FindLaw. Rodarte v. State, 1D19-3060
The Plea Deal and 40-Year Sentence
With Stand Your Ground exhausted, Rodarte entered a negotiated guilty plea to second-degree murder on February 16, 2021, before Duval County Circuit Court Judge Jeb Branham. Under the agreement, he would serve 40 years in Florida state prison, and the tampering with evidence and abuse of a dead body charges would be dropped. Had the case gone to trial, he faced a potential life sentence.9Action News Jax. Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Murder of His Bonefish Grill Coworker10State Attorney’s Office, 4th Judicial Circuit. Rodarte Pleads Guilty to Murder in 2017 Killing of Savannah Gold
Judge Branham formally imposed the 40-year sentence on March 11, 2021. Rodarte said nothing at the hearing.1Jacksonville.com. Lee Rodarte Sentenced for Jacksonville Co-Worker Savannah Gold
Savannah Gold’s Family and Memorial Fund
Gold’s parents, Daniel and Sharon Gold, spoke at the sentencing. Her mother called Savannah “my sweet baby, my heart” and “an absolute shining light in our lives.” Her father described watching the surveillance video of the killing: “As I watched the video of Savannah struggling for her life, Lee’s car violently shaking back and forth, I saw her lion heart and glowing colors for the last time.” Both parents wore butterflies on their lapels in her memory.1Jacksonville.com. Lee Rodarte Sentenced for Jacksonville Co-Worker Savannah Gold
The family established the Savannah Gold Memorial Fund to benefit survivors of domestic violence and other causes tied to their daughter, and pledged to work on educating young adults about the warning signs of abusive relationships.11First Coast News. Memorial Fund for Savannah Gold12News4Jax. Savannah Gold’s Parents: We Are Seeking Justice for Our Daughter