Judge Dismisses Tammy Sytch's Motion For DUI Causing Death Conviction To Be Thrown Out

Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, who is currently serving 17 years in prison, filed a motion earlier this month to have her DUI causing death conviction thrown out, a motion that was swiftly rejected by a judge.

Sytch is in jail over a car crash in March 2022 that resulted in the death of 75-year-old Julian Lasseter after the WWE Hall of Famer rear-ended Lasseter's vehicle at a "high rate of speed" while he was stationary at a red traffic light, causing Lasseter's vehicle to crash into the automobile in front of him. Sytch's blood alcohol level was over three-and-a-half times above the legal limit and an open bottle of vodka was found in her car at the scene.

Sytch initially pleaded not guilty to all charges before changing her plea to no contest and accepting lesser charges in August 2023 shortly before the case was due to go to trial. Sytch pleaded no contest to DUI causing death, driving with a suspended licence causing death, four misdemeanour counts of DUI with damage to a person, and two misdemeanour charges of DUI with damage to property.

The state of Florida sought for Sytch to be sentenced to 26 years in prison but she was ultimately sentenced to 17 years behind bars plus another eight years of probation in November 2023.

In new court documents obtained by PWInsider, Sytch filed for her conviction to be reviewed earlier this month. Within her argument, Sytch alleged her defence counsel provided "ineffective assistance" as they failed to investigate and present evidence about "possible alternative causes of death." According to Sytch, this included Julian Lasseter's pre-existing medical conditions, which included coronary artery disease and stenosis, while Lasseter also had Cialis and Adderall in his system at the time of his passing, and he suffered fractured ribs consistent with CPR being administered.

Sytch argued in her motion: "The incident involved a low-speed collision. Defendant had slowed her speed and was moving toward a turnaround lane at the time of the collision. While the death of the decedent is tragic, the available criminal case materials indicated that the decedent had no significant physical injuries that clearly explained death from the impact itself. Trial counsel did not conduct an adequate investigation into whether the state could prove that the collision legally caused the decedent's death."

According to Sytch, Lasseter's medical records raised the question of whether he actually passed away because of emergency life-saving measures administered to him, a pre-existing medical condition, a spontaneous medical event, or toxicology findings. Sytch claimed this argument being presented by her defence counsel would have established reasonable doubt as to whether her driving caused Lasseter's death.

Sytch also claimed that defence counsel failed to discover that lead Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilliger, who helped prosecute the case, was married to Dr Zachary C. Terwilliger, the doctor who declared Julian Lasseter's death, which she claimed was a potential conflict of interest.

Furthermore, Sytch claimed in her motion: "The evidence concerning the decedent's medical history, toxicology, CPR related trauma, and the prosecutor's marital relationship to the physician constitutes newly discovered evidence warranting post-conviction relief."

Sytch requested for the State of Florida to vacate her current judgement and sentence, grant her a trial, hold an evidentiary hearing, appoint new counsel for her should a hearing be necessary, or provide other post-conviction relief.

Volusia County Circuit Court Judge Christian Miller filed an interim order on October 21 for Sytch's motion to be dismissed due to it being "facially insufficient." Miller, in his ruling, also stated that Sytch failed to comply with the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure with her motion.

Miller also warned Sytch that if she was successful in having her plea deal thrown out, the State of Florida could look to increase her sentence following a trial as the lesser charges she accepted in a plea deal would no longer be applicable. Sytch may now file a motion to appeal the dismissal or file to dismiss her new claims.

As it stands, the WWE Hall of Famer is scheduled to remain in prison until 2039. Prior to her 2022 arrest, she had been in and out of prison since 2012 and had been arrested for impaired driving on at least six occasions.

Sytch previously attempted to have her sentence reduced, requesting in January 2025 that her sentence be served concurrently as opposed to serving time for each charge separately.

The estate of Julian Lasseter sued Sytch over his death. The civil lawsuit was settled in February 2025 and Sytch was ordered to pay $5 million in compensation.