Seminole County prosecutors upgrade charges in UCF professor death case

Seminole County prosecutors upgraded the case against Marquavious Tayvon Wheaton, filing two second-degree murder charges in the Casselberry crash that killed a UCF professor and the professor’s brother. Wheaton remains jailed as the case advances through Seminole County court.

The State Attorney’s Office made the change as prosecutors concluded the evidence supported more serious allegations than were originally filed. The upgraded filing also matches the harsher path prosecutors are now pursuing, with the office seeking a life sentence in the deadly crash case.

Investigators say Wheaton fled police before the collision. A sheriff’s helicopter captured the moment his vehicle crashed into a car carrying the professor and his brother, and case details say Wheaton was driving at speeds exceeding 100 mph before the wreck in Casselberry. The fatal crash put the case squarely before Seminole County judges and prosecutors, with the deaths carrying both criminal and campus-wide weight for the University of Central Florida community.

Wheaton faced a judge on July 10, and a July 13 account laid out what led to the crash before the charge upgrade was filed July 15. That sequence shows how the case has moved from an initial arrest and court appearance to a more serious set of homicide charges in less than a week.

The deaths of the professor and his brother have resonated beyond the courtroom because the victims were tied to UCF and because the crash unfolded in a Seminole County suburb many residents know well. With two second-degree murder charges now on the table and prosecutors pushing for a life sentence, the case is heading toward a more serious and potentially lengthy legal fight.