JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dan and Sherri Gold are fixtures in the courtroom of their daughter’s accused killer, attending 26 of Lee Rodarte’s 27 hearings over the past two years.
“We’re not going away until we get some justice for [Rodarte] killing our daughter,” says Dan Gold.
Rodarte is charged with killing 21-year-old Savannah Gold, his coworker at Bonefish Grill in Mandarin, and dumping her body in a Westside lake on Aug. 2, 2017.
He was arrested three days later, and has admitted killing Savannah Gold – he says in self-defense -- but the case has moved slowly. After four motions to continue, Rodarte’s lawyers on Friday announced a surprise Stand-Your-Ground appeal that pushed back Monday’s scheduled trial date indefinitely.
The delay is frustrating to the Gold family for the reason legal delays always are -- and for one reason unique to them: Sherri Gold is battling Stage 4 colon cancer.
“Since Savannah’s passed away, the cancer has come back twice -- and aggressive,” says Sherri. “If we’re talking another trial six months down the line, six months could be a very long time for me.
Before her daughter’s death, Sherri Gold says Savannah was “my best caretaker" and put her college plans on hold so she could be home to help.
“I feel like she gave up a lot because I was sick,” Sherri Gold says. “She had an art, sports, academic scholarship to SCAD [Savanna College of Art and Design], and she didn’t want to go, because I had just gotten over surgery and chemotherapy, and she wanted to stay here with me.”
“In hindsight it’s hard,” she adds, “because I feel if she had been away at college, maybe she’d still be alive.”
Sherri Gold is used to balancing her illness against the demands of the trial -- and health needs don’t always win.
“There were times where I was supposed to have chemo, and we rescheduled,” she said, “because we were going to be at the hearings no matter what.”
But the cancer diagnosis hangs heavy over the Golds now that the trial has again been postponed.
“It took the wind out of our sails because we were ready,” says Dan Gold. “I just feel very angry and very frustrated at how long this has taken. It shouldn’t be this difficult, it shouldn’t be this long, it shouldn’t be this drawn out.”
“Six months could be a very long time for me,” observes Sherri Gold. “Six months could mean everything. Will I be here to see justice for my daughter?”
Both Golds express faith in the justice system and believe they will see the outcome they want at trial. But they are ready for the wait to be over.
“We want justice,” says Sherri Gold, “and it can’t come soon enough.”