A Florida judge sentenced remodeler Corey Binderim to life in prison last month for the murder of a client in 2019.
The Clay County homeowner, Susan Mauldin, hired Binderim to remodel her bathroom, but after demolition, he stopped showing up on the job. According to court documents, Mauldin asked Binderim for a $12,000 refund and threatened to sue. He told her he would bring a check to her house. Once there, Binderim strangled Mauldin and disposed of her body in a Georgia landfill.
Binderim had the “façade of a respectable contractor” who “tossed [Mauldin] out like the garbage he thought she was,” said state attorney Ashley Terry during the trial.
Binderim was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault and battery during a burglary, and destroying evidence.
The prosecution had argued for the death penalty, but Binderim was able to narrowly avoid that fate, as jurors voted 7-5 in favor, falling just short of the eight votes required for capital punishment under Florida law.
During the trial, the defense testified about Binderim’s struggle with drug use as well as behavioral changes following multiple concussions, some of them reportedly from playing football in high school.