Double Domestic Homicide Case Will Go to Trial, State Attorney Seeks Death Sentence as Opposing Counsel Prepares to Mount Insanity Defense

It’s been nearly six years since Kivi Jacquis Ellis, 31, killed his girlfriend Shelby Mathis and their infant son Gideon Ellis. He is scheduled to face trial in August.

Court records show the Eighth Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office intends to mount an insanity defense, indicating a lack of dispute regarding Kivi Ellis physically committing the homicides. 

Kivi Ellis is charged with two counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted premeditated murder, two counts of child abuse, and one count of resisting an officer without violence. 

Court records indicate that State Attorney Brian Kramer is prosecuting the case himself, a rare move, as most cases are handled by his designees. Kramer is pursuing the death penalty against Kivi Ellis. 

Court records show a timeline of hearings leading up to the trial. If everything goes as planned, there will be a pretrial conference on July 28, followed by a trial status on August 11, followed by jury selection on August 17.

According to court records, after Kramer filed a Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty, “The Defendant proposed a resolution involving a term of seventy-five years in the Florida Department of Corrections, but the proposal did not include sufficient detail to constitute a complete agreement.”

Afterwards, “The State conveyed the proposal to the victim's family, who indicated agreement with resolving the case short of trial. The State responded that any negotiated resolution would require the imposition of the applicable minimum mandatory sentences under Florida's ‘10-20-Life’ statute… The Defendant declined to accept those conditions and did not enter a plea. The State subsequently established a deadline for acceptance of any negotiated resolution, and that deadline passed without agreement. The case now proceeds to trial.”

Kramer fears that there could be references to the prior plea negotiations at trial and is asking the judge to rule that it cannot be spoken of in front of the jury. If the motion is granted, witnesses who are called to the stand will be told they cannot speak of the prior plea negotiations.

In another motion, Kramer objected to the defense introducing testimony characterizing Kivi Ellis as a caring parent and “good person,” and then contrasting that evidence with his charged conduct. 

Kramer argued that it would be an “improper use of character evidence” to argue that “because [Kivi Ellis] is a ‘good father’ he would not have committed these acts unless he was legally insane.” 

Gainesville Police Department officers arrested Kivi Ellis on December 4, 2020. 

Kivi Ellis was initially arrested on the murder/attempted murder charges, while the others were handed down in the indictment.

According to the arrest report, Kivi Ellis and Mathis were in a dating relationship and lived together as a family unit with three children. 

Kivi Ellis was observed by several witnesses discharging numerous gunshots into Mathis while she held their son in her arms. 

The homicides appear to have occurred in broad daylight in the front yard of Kivi Ellis’ and Mathis’ residence. 

Upon being shot, Mathis fell to the ground as Kivi Ellis continued to shoot her. Mathis was fatally wounded from a bullet to the head.

After committing the homicides, Kivi Ellis picked up Gideon Ellis, walked into the backyard, and discarded the baby’s body near a dog kennel. 

Kivi Ellis was then seen returning to Mathis’ location, where he resumed shooting at her.

Seemingly looking for another victim, Kivi Ellis began walking down the street and started shooting at a man but did not successfully strike him. Officers observed Kivi Ellis shooting towards the third victim when they arrived on scene.

After police arrived, Kivi Ellis dropped his firearm and was taken into custody. 

Mathis and Gideon Ellis were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Giddeon Ellis was just three months old when his father killed him.

The two other children in the home, ages three and five, were found hiding under a bed in the residence and were reportedly present during the incident. 

Kivi Ellis made statements that police described as spontaneous. He reportedly “stated he was sorry,” asking to call Mathis’ parents to apologize.

Kivi Ellis was “also heard stating that he killed them both,” states the arrest report. 

Prior Case:

In the early morning of May 31, 2014, emergency personnel were dispatched to the Kangaroo gas station on 20 NE Waldo Rd. in reference to Mathis bleeding from her face. She was transported to the hospital due to several injuries Kivi Ellis inflicted upon her, to include a lacerated liver, a fractured rib, several bruises, lacerations, and swelling across her body.

The victim’s friend, Taylor White, arrived on the scene at the same time as police and medical after receiving a call from Mathis. During the call, Mathis was crying hysterically and said she was on the side of the road near Waldo and University. White told her to find the nearest gas station, where she made contact with police. 

When questioned by police, Mathis refused to answer questions about her injuries. She also would not tell White what happened, but White suspected Kivi Ellis was involved due to previous incidents. 

Eventually, Mathis confided in White and explained that Kivi Ellis was upset with her while under the influence of narcotics when they met up at the MLK Center. Mathis told White that Kivi Ellis beat her repeatedly with a board, in addition to punching, kicking, and biting her, consistent with Mathis’ injuries. 

When police went to the MLK center, they found Mathis’ vehicle with blood on the exterior and a fractured piece of the board nearby. 

Officers also found Kivi Ellis’ vehicle parked at his residence. In plain view inside, officers observed basketball shorts covered in blood. According to Mathis, Kivi Ellis was wearing basketball shorts during the incident. 

White explained that Mathis was scared of coming forward about the true sequence of events due to fear of Kivi Ellis further harming her if she cooperates with law enforcement. 

Officer Thomas Harrison reported, “During an interview with [Mathis], she stated that [she] and [Kivi Ellis] are in a serious dating relationship and have been in this relationship for approximately one year. [Mathis] stated she and [Kivi Ellis] had been at a party earlier in the night at [his] cousin's house. It was here that [Kivi Ellis] and [Mathis] got into a heated argument. [Mathis] and [Kivi Ellis] then met up at the MLK Center later on in the night. [Mathis] provided no explanation for her injuries.”

The report continues, “[Kivi Ellis] was located and voluntarily agreed to be transported to the Gainesville Police Station to be interviewed. During an interview… [Kivi Ellis] invoked his rights and refused to speak to me about this case. [Kivi Ellis] also had the [Mathis]’ vehicle keys on his person.”

Three days prior to this incident, Mathis’ parents called the police requesting a well-being check for their daughter. Mathis’ parents were afraid she was unsafe and being held against her will by Kivi Ellis. 

Kivi Ellis’ was charged with aggravated battery (dating violence).

Kivi Ellis was released after posting a $25,000 bond under orders to not contact Mathis. 

In the following months, prosecutors filed six charges against Kivi Ellis for violating pretrial release conditions by contacting Mathis. Some of the alleged incidents occurred over the phone while others were reportedly witnessed by Mathis’ parents when checking up on their daughter. 

Kivi Ellis was issued a summons after he was charged again, but prosecutors motioned to revoke his bond due to his repeated alleged violations. However, it’s unclear if this motion was heard in court, and it does not appear Kivi Ellis was re-arrested. Prosecutors dropped the pretrial release violation charges between January and April 2015.

On June 10, 2015, Judge Thomas Jaworski accepted a plea deal that sentenced Kivi Ellis to one year of community control followed by four years of probation. Jaworski granted Kivi Ellis a withheld adjudication for felony battery with great bodily harm, a lesser included offense.

Prior to the finalization of the plea deal, Mathis pushed for the conditions to not include a no-contact order, while her parents pleaded for the court to keep it instated. 

Mathis wrote:

“I am the victim in the case and am aware of the plea bargain that was offered to Kivi. I was happy about some of the things that were offered because I think they will help; however, I really disagree with the no contact order that has been requested throughout the entire five years. This is very stressful for me. I feel as if it's putting a strain on me and Kivi to be able to move forward with our lives. During the year that we have already had a no contact order I have had many false accusations made stating that Kivi violated the no contact order. I would like to avoid any of this happening by asking that the no contact order be dropped so that I can move forward with my life and healing as well as Kivi. Like I mentioned before I think that the other things offered in the plea bargain would only help Kivi more than hurt and the only thing I ask to be changed is the no contact order.”

Mathis’ parents told the court:

“Mr. Kivi Ellis brutally beat my daughter with a board. My daughter is my life and to see all those bruises on her and to hear the doctor say to me she had life threatening injuries was overwhelming. The bruises, broken bones, bite marks, and bleeding liver all have healed but the emotional scar she carries around from being in an abusive relationship is still evident. Shelby lives at home and we are trying to help her move forward by getting her back in school at Santa Fe College, focusing her on positive things and most of all getting her the proper counseling for an abused woman. It is in my opinion that my daughter will rise up again and be strong and confident as she once was, but she needs to have this chance to heal without Mr. Ellis contacting her. Mr. Ellis needs to be rehabilitated and get the proper help he needs in order to not hurt my daughter or another woman again. I ask that the court consider this and uphold the no contact order to allow my daughter the chance to understand with counseling why she was in an abusive relationship and to work through this without the influence of her abuser minimizing her progress. I truly believe maintaining the no contact order, especially while Mr. Ellis is being rehabilitated, would be in my daughter's best interest to be safe.”

Jaworski ruled that Kivi Ellis “may have contact with [Mathis] if approved by [his batterer intervention program] provider.” Jaworski also granted Kivi Ellis permission to travel on a family vacation to North Carolina.

Felony battery is a third-degree felony in Florida, meaning Kivi Ellis was facing a five year statutory maximum every time he violated his community control/probation.

On October 6, 2015, Kivi Ellis was accused of violating his community control by leaving his residence without an approved reason. He was later arrested on a warrant. 

On November 10, 2015, Kivi Ellis took a plea deal, accepted by Judge David Kreider, in which his community control/probation was reinstated after he served three months in jail.

On December 9, 2016, Kivi Ellis failed his drug/alcohol test, prompting a probation violation affidavit to be issued but not an arrest warrant. He also signed an admission to using the intoxicants. 

On January 10, 2017, Kivi Ellis took a plea deal, accepted by Judge Philip Pena, in which his community control/probation was reinstated under the condition that he complete substance abuse evaluation and treatment and provide the evaluation to his probation officer. 

On January 12, 2017, Kivi Ellis was accused of violating his probation for reportedly using crack and cannabis on January 4, 2017. The report specifies that Kivi Ellis signed an admission. Pena dismissed the affidavit due to the recent plea deal. 

On February 8, 2018, Kivi Ellis was accused of violating his probation again after testing positive for cocaine and cannabis. 

On March 22, 2018, Kivi Ellis entered an open no contest plea, giving Pena full discretion on sentencing. Court records indicate Kivi Ellis’ had a psychological evaluation submitted in consideration for sentencing. The report is sealed from public record, but the plea deal form indicates Kivi Ellis is diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Pena ordered Kivi Ellis to enter the Phoenix House for treatment. Pena did not administer an incarceration sentence but did order Kivi Ellis to remain in the jail until space opened up. Pena also ordered Kivi Ellis to remain at the Phoenix House until completing his probation upon being transferred. 

On May 30, 2018, BOLD Program Intervention Specialist Robert Wright wrote a letter to Kivi Ellis’ probation officer, stating:

“Kivi Ellis was court ordered to participate in the Gainesville Police Departments BOLD Program for young adults in December 2016. The BOLD program was to assist Mr. Ellis with soft skills job training, decision making through evidence based ‘Thinking for a Change’ instruction, employment and community service. 

Starting in January 2017, Mr. Ellis disclosed he had a substance abuse issue. Mr. Ellis violated probation for failing a drug test. After multiple failures and counseling, Mr. Ellis was admitted for residential drug treatment. After release from the treatment program, Mr. Ellis was unable to maintain his sobriety even with family and BOLD support. 

I was recently informed by Mr. Ellis's mother… [Kivi Ellis] was diagnosed with a serious mental illness. [His mom stated] the illness was a major contributing factor in Mr. Ellis's repeated substance abuse issues. She states Mr. Ellis has been court ordered to a residential facility to receive the required treatment. Based on this information, Mr. Ellis needs services outside the scope of the BOLD program. In response to Mr. Ellis's wellbeing, I request the BOLD program be removed as a court ordered condition related to Mr. Ellis. 

Mr. Ellis is welcome to re-apply to the BOLD program after treatment and successful management on his illness. I look forward to Mr. Ellis having great success in overcoming this life challenge.”

In March 2019, Pena removed the requirement of completing the BOLD program following a recommendation from Florida Department of Corrections due to his more intensive treatment.

On April 9, 2019, Kivi Ellis wrote a letter requesting the early termination of his probation, stating:

"During my period of supervision, I was challenged with several situations in my life. I went through a period where I didn't take my supervision seriously. I am thankful for the court in giving me an opportunity by giving me another chance when I violated my probation. Since that time, I have grown up, took responsibility and have completed all my court ordered special conditions and I have paid in full all my monetary obligations and [am] in good standing with my probation. I have learned a great deal while being on supervision. I have a support group, my family and my church family. I am remorseful towards my crime: I appreciate the court believing in me to [reach] this point in my life. So, I'm asking the court to grant me early termination of probation. Thank you for your consideration.”

Assistant State Attorney Stephanie Hines expressed her opposition to the motion in an email, stating, “I disagree with the Defendant's statement in his letter to the Court that he went through a ‘period’ where he did not take his probation seriously - he violated in 2015, 2017, and 2018 - so, almost every year that he's been on probation. That does not make him deserving of an early termination.”

Pena denied the motion. 

Ellis’ probation was ultimately terminated on June 12, 2020 with no new violations.