Journalist

Martin E. Comas

Martin E. Comas covers Seminole County and its seven cities for the Orlando Sentinel. Martin is a University of Central Florida graduate with degrees in journalism and business administration. He is fluent in Spanish.

A crew begins the process of removing items from the Pulse Nightclub site on Monday, December 22, 2025, as the effort to demolish the site—where the mass shooting occurred in June 2016—begins, making way for a permanent memorial. Items being removed and stored include chandeliers, large posters, a cash register and other interior decorative items. (Rich Pope/ Orlando Sentinel)

Orlando removes artifacts from Pulse building, marking major step in new memorial

December 22, 2025 at 4:58 p.m.

City officials have not yet decided whether all of the items will be part of the permanent Pulse memorial.

Guests ride the Stardust Racer Rollercoaster at Epic Universe in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

Five people sue Universal, claiming Stardust Racers caused severe injuries

December 19, 2025 at 2:35 p.m.

Five people have filed separate lawsuits against Universal Orlando Resort for debilitating injuries they claim suffered while riding Stardust Racers.

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, died from multiple blunt impact injuries while riding the Stardust Racers thrill ride at Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe theme park on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (GoFundMe page)

‘Blood surrounding him’: Report details horrific Epic Universe death

December 12, 2025 at 1:51 p.m.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office closed its investigation into a September death at Epic Universe, saying the roller coaster fatality was an accident and no criminal charges would be filed.

Florida death row inmate Tommy Zeigler listens to testimony during a hearing in circuit court in Orlando, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Zeigler was convicted in the 1975 Christmas Eve murder of his wife and 3 other people and is seeking a new trial based on DNA evidence that his attorneys say will prove his innocence. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Nearly 50 years later, Zeigler killings still captivate public

December 7, 2025 at 7:30 a.m.

The judge who presided over a hearing last week likely will decide in March whether new DNA evidence means Zeigler, convicted of four murders in 1976, deserves a new trial.

Tommy Zeigler is brought in on a wheelchair for an evidentiary hearing before Circuit Court Judge Leticia Marques at the Orange County Courthouse, on Monday, December 1, 2025. Zeigler has been on Florida's death row since July 1976. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

Tommy Zeigler’s attorneys say recent DNA tests of blood, clothing prove his innocence

December 5, 2025 at 3:14 p.m.

Zeigler, now 80, has been on Florida's death row for nearly 50 years.

Death row inmate Tommy Zeigler spoke with an Orlando Sentinel reporter at the Union Correctional Institute in Raiford, Fla. in 2010. (Orlando Sentinel file)

After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

November 30, 2025 at 8:42 a.m.

A hearing on new DNA tests from the 1975 crime scene is to start Monday and last about a week.

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, left, leaves the courtroom in the Third Judicial Circuit in Lake City, Fla., Sept. 26, 2025. Mills’ ex-girlfriend Lindsey Langston, right, a state GOP committeewoman and the reigning Miss United States, was granted a restraining order against Mills. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Judge grants ex-girlfriend restraining order against Rep. Cory Mills

October 15, 2025 at 3:38 p.m.

A Florida judge said Rep. Cory Mills had cyberstalked an ex-girlfriend and barred the lawmaker from going near her residence or workplace or referencing her on social media.

Stardust Racers remains closed at Universal Epic Universe following the Sept. 17 death of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala on Oct. 1, 2025. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Coaster death reignites debate over Florida’s regulation of theme parks

October 5, 2025 at 9:15 a.m.

"It's the fox guarding the henhouse," a Virginia-based ride safety analyst and consumer advocate says.

Guests ride Stardust Racers, a dueling roller coaster ride in Celestial Park, during a preview day for Universal's Epic Universe on April 5, 2025. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Universal Orlando will reopen Stardust Racers Saturday with new restriction, 17 days after man’s death

October 4, 2025 at 9:14 a.m.

Guests in wheelchairs must be able to walk independently in order to ride, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

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