Home › News › Crime news
Judge pushes date of NFL star Sean Taylor murder trial to next year
Photos of the suspects in the murder of NFL star Sean Taylor. Click to enlarge.
RELATED STORIES
- Police negating alibis of Sean Taylor murder suspects
- Plea deal brokered in murder of NFL star Sean Taylor
More Crime news
- Man dies a day after being struck by truck in Golden Gate
- High-tech device leads to arrest of convicted felon during traffic stop on I-75
- Fred Cooper’s claims of harassment by jailers dismissed
Tell us about it
- What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
- Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
- Upload photos & videos
- More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.
STORY TOOLS
Share and Enjoy [?]
MIAMI — The Miami trial of four men accused of murdering Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor has been delayed until next year.
A judge on Friday set a new trial date of March 3, 2009. It had been previously set for later this month, which would have been unusually fast for a murder case.
Prosecutors say the suspects shot Taylor in November 2007 during a robbery attempt at his Miami-area home. Taylor, an All-Pro safety, was unexpectedly home because of a knee injury.
One of the men, 20-year-old Venjah Hunte, pleaded guilty in May under a deal that calls for him to serve 29 years in prison.
The remaining four men, all from the Fort Myers area, have pleaded not guilty. They are being held without bail and face possible life in prison if convicted.
The suspects — Timmy Lee Brown, 17, Eric Rivera, 18, Charles Wardlow, 18, Jason Mitchell, 20, and Hunte — were arrested late last year. They all had been scheduled for August trials after being charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, but Hunte took his plea deal in May.
Wardlow, Hunte, Rivera, Mitchell and Brown are all connected to each other by a mix of friendships, school, sports and family ties. There were also loosely linked to Taylor through the romance one of Wardlow’s relatives had with Taylor’s half-sister, and Mitchell had been to Taylor’s Palmetto Bay home before for a party where he saw Taylor’s wealth firsthand.
Investigators believe the men drove from Lee County the night of Nov. 25 in a rented SUV and attempted the burglary and shooting early Nov. 26.
Taylor, a 24-year-old player for the Washington Redskins, died from his injuries Nov. 27.
In Florida, suspects committing a felony that results in a death can be charged with murder, whether or not they were the ones to pull a trigger.
The death penalty has been waived for Mitchell, Rivera and Wardlow, and with Hunte’s plea deal, he is expected to serve 29 years in prison for second-degree murder and will cooperate with prosecutors.
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
i would rather be put to death than go to prison for 29 years
#1 Posted by NeezDutz on August 15, 2008 at 4:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sean Taylor was a man that changed his old ways and it backfired on him, by that I mean paying a couple of these thugs $300.00 cash each for helping him do yard work before a childs birthday party. Read the past articles on this.
He is missed by the Redskins. And others.
#2 Posted by Opinionated on August 15, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good grief, that Jason Mitchel kid looks like he has an IQ of a avacado.
#3 Posted by cit10driver on August 16, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)