Cop killer’s family wants property back

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – An unusual request from the family of a cop killer.

Sgt. Michael Wilson of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office was killed two years ago. Now, the family of the man who killed him is asking the sheriff’s office to return a number of items. Many people will be shocked at what they want back.

Wilson was murdered on August 5, 2013 by Jay Vanko. Now, WINK News has learned, Vanko’s daughter, Zuzana Vankova, wants her father’s property back.

“Obviously the sins of the father don’t go on the family, so they’re just trying to get all their personal property back such as their computers and so on,” said Mark De Sisto, a long time Port Charlotte attorney who is representing Vanko’s daughter. “They took two hits, they lost an officer in the community and they lost their father at the same time.”

Vankova wants the eight guns and ammunition that Vanko kept in his apartment. What they don’t want back, is the gun her father used to murder a cop.

“I spoke to the family about that,” explained De Sisto. “We’re not going to request the weapon that ended in the death of Sgt. Wilson. Obviously, we think that would be disrespectful to the family, to the Charlotte Co. Sheriff’s Office, to law enforcement overall.”

In an email sent by Vankova to De Sisto, it lists the things she does want back. Among them, are the bloody clothes her father was wearing and the bullet that wound up in his body after he took his own life.

“My guess is it’s just a sentimental thing for he,” added De Sisto. “That’s all I can imagine so, I don’t know if I would feel the same way in this situation, but I don’t wanna speak for everybody.”

And, what does the daughter of the man who murdered a police officer do for a living? She’s a police officer.