Man who brutally killed Daytona Beach couple during 2022 Bike Week pleads no contest, gets life sentence
Jean Macean sentenced to life in prison for 2022 murders
Jean Robert Macean, the man accused of brutally murdering a couple during Daytona Beach Bike Week festivities in 2022, entered a plea of no contest during a Wednesday hearing and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Jean Robert Macean, the man accused of brutally murdering a couple during Daytona Beach Bike Week festivities in 2022, entered a plea of no contest during a Wednesday hearing and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
Macean found to be ‘intellectually disabled’
What Happened in Court?:
Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty for Jean Macean in the brutal stabbing deaths of Brenda Aultman, 55, and Terry Aultman, 48. The public defenders representing Macean sought to eliminate the death penalty, claiming that Macean was "intellectually disabled."
In exchange for pleading no contest to two counts of first-degree murder, Macean receives a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Man sentenced to life in prison for 2022 Bike Week murders
Jean Macean, the man accused of murdering a Daytona Beach couple during 2022 Bike Week is set to be in court today for the defendant's plea and sentence.
Prior to Wednesday's plea deal, Macean, 35, had an October trial date set before Judge Elizabeth Blackburn.
What they're saying:
Sara Turner, the slain couple’s daughter, became very emotional when Macean was sentenced to life in prison. She said that she feels happy that no other family will have to go through this.
Turner said she was left paralyzed when she received an unexpected call about Wednesday's hearing.
"All I know is that my best friend, my mother — the one person who loved me the most — was ripped away from me and nothing will ever fix it, because she will never be here and that’s not fair," she said.
Couple killed during 2022 Daytona Beach Bike Week
The backstory:
Macean faced two counts of first-degree murder, accused of killing Brenda and Terry Aultman as they were riding their bikes home from the event on March 6, 2022.
The Aultmans' bodies were found the morning after their murders. Both had been stabbed, and their throats had been slashed, according to the Daytona Beach Police Department. Their bikes were located nearby.
Following a multi-day manhunt, Macean was arrested in Orlando. Daytona Beach police previously said that Macean confessed to the murders while talking with detectives. Investigators said the killings were random in nature.
"I have trouble even being able to make sense of any of it. It just feels like really surreal and like a living nightmare," Sara Turner, Brenda's daughter, previously said. "It just doesn't feel real. I hate that it happened to them. I hate that it happens to anyone."
Jean Macean indicted in murders of Brenda, Terry Aultman
The man accused of stabbing and killing a man and woman during Daytona Bike Week has been indicted on first-degree murder charges, the State Attorney's office announced Tuesday.
Who is Jean Robert Macean?
Dig deeper:
Jean Robert Macean is a Haitian immigrant who was first arrested in 2019 on drug charges which were later dropped under former State Attorney Aramis Ayala’s supervision.
Deemed competent to stand trial
On November 20, 2023, a judge deemed Macean competent to stand trial following a hearing in January 2023 where the judge ruled that Macean was incompetent to stand trial and ordered that he be placed in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families and receive an involuntary mental health evaluation.
Jean Macean competent to stand trial
The man accused of brutally murdering a Daytona Beach couple during the 2022 Bike Week festivities has been deemed competent to stand trial, a judge has ruled. It is the latest in a series of competency hearings for Jean Robert Macean, 33, who is facing two counts of first-degree murder, accused of stabbing Brenda Aultman, 55, and Terry Aultman, 48, as they were riding their bikes home from the event on March 6, 2022.
Decision based on landmark Supreme Court ruling
On June 20, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing individuals with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, citing a national consensus and their reduced moral culpability.
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The Source: The information in this article comes from previous reporting done by FOX 35 News, court documents from the Volusia County Clerk of Courts, court proceedings on May 7, 2025, and the Death Penalty Information Center.