Virginia Tech football player accused of killing Tinder match after discovering his date was a man

[left-of-center2012]

A suspended Virginia Tech football player punched and stomped his Tinder match to death after learning the person was a man, according to prosecutors. Isimemen Etute, 18, of Virginia Beach, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Jerry Smith in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech is located, police said earlier this month. Smith, 40, died of blunt force injuries to the head, according to the Roanoke Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officials initially said Etute and the victim were “acquaintances,” but new details in court Wednesday revealed that the two met on April 10 after matching on the Tinder dating app, NBC affiliate WSLS of Roanoke reported. Etute told police that Smith was posing as a woman under the alias, “Angie,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jason Morgan said. He did not know that Smith was a man when the two met and engaged in sexual activity during their first encounter at Smith’s apartment, according to Etute’s lawyer, Jimmy Turk.

On May 31, Etute returned to the victim’s residence where he found out that “Angie” was actually Smith, Turk said. After the discovery, Etute punched Smith five times and stomped on his head after the victim fell on the floor, according to Morgan. He told authorities that Smith did not fight back and admitted that he heard a bubbly and gurgling noise after the incident, but did not call the police, Morgan said.

The Commonwealth appealed the judge’s ruling to release Etute on a $75,000 bond, but dropped it after
a judge determined that the suspect was neither a flight risk nor a danger to society.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-tech-football-player-accused-killing-tinder-match-after-discovering-n1270457

[underpants]

1. He beat him to death.

Saw this yesterday. He stomped the guy to death.

He couldn’t in any way tell that “Angie” wasn’t Angie?

[2naSalit]

7. Right?

After having sex of some sort? Sounds like a fishy alibi.

[Sneederbunk]

18. Hate crime.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Wow.

[Funtatlaguy]

3. Wow, that's incredibly awful. I can just imagine talk radio dealing with this.

The rednecks that hate gay people will be defending a black man beating and killing the white man.
Especially since it’s a heterosexual football player for the local team.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

11. I doubt they will deal with it at all

There's no 'straight white gun-toting Christian hero' to promulgate the interests of, ergo, I'd imagine it will be ignored.

If they talk about it, it will be only to yammer on about how 'liberals don't know how to deal with it because the killer is black and the victim is white, but gay'.

Which is, of course, not true, but ... we know how they roll.

[hlthe2b]

4. When hate, homophobia, athletic machismo and youth intersect... Horrific!

Heavens. He'll keep prison psychiatrists busy for decades.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. That is horrifying ...

From the pic and paucity of facts in the article, it doesn't appear as though Angie was transgender, but rather simply advertising on Tinder with a woman's name.

Seems likely it's a case where the student engaged in sex with a man, which he was aware of at the time, apparently later regretted it, and went back and murdered the guy over it, and his cover story is that he was tricked.

And I am dumbfounded that this murderer is out on bail. You have to be fucking kidding me.

[2naSalit]

8. No shit...

His alibi is shaky at best.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

10. Given the lack of specifics in the article, I'm allowing for the possibility that Smith had

transitioned since the photo shown was taken ... but either way it's absolutely no f***ing excuse whatsoever.

And it's a pretty serious affront in my esteem that he's out on 75K bail for what appears to be a first degree murder case.

[2naSalit]

13. Totally with you an that.

Must be a big game coming up or something. Perhaps there's some major investment in this teen.

He needs to be in jail for a long time. Murder is murder and it's not okay.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

14. He's suspended from the team and I'm sure will never play again so I don't think that's it ...

What it most certainly feels like, regardless, is a GLARING slap in the face to the world at large WRT the perceived value of LGBTQ lives in the eyes of the judge who set this bail.

$75K bond means you pay the bail bondsman $7500 and you walk.

Despite the fact that he's admitting killing this man. It's not even in question, apparently.

Gotta be kidding me

[2naSalit]

15. Indeed.

[OldBaldy1701E]

22. I think you nailed it.

Because there is no reason to act like 'teh gheys' have the same rights as 'normal' people. To this day, that mindset is prevalent in plenty of cities/states.

[msongs]

6. not a danger to society??? nt

[2naSalit]

9. +1

[Marcuse]

12. What's done is done. What's wrong with just leaving?

[2naSalit]

16. Sounds like he liked it until he didn't...

Well after the fact.

[left-of-center2012]

17. Some states used to allow a 'gay panic' defense

I think some states now have done away with that defense.

The ‘gay panic defense’ is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims they acted in a state of violent, temporary insanity, committing assault or murder, because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances. A defendant may allege to have found the same-sex sexual advances so offensive or frightening that they were provoked into reacting, were acting in self-defense, were of diminished capacity, or were temporarily insane, and that this circumstance is exculpatory or mitigating.

The ‘trans panic defense’ is a closely related legal strategy applied in cases of assault, manslaughter, or murder of a transgender individual with whom the assailant(s) had engaged in or was close to engaging in sexual relations with and claim to have been unaware that the victim was transgender, producing in the attacker an alleged trans panic reaction, often a manifestation of homophobia and transphobia.

They are often used by men to justify hate-crimes or the intentional assault or murder of gay men or trans women.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_panic_defense

[underpants]

21. Had no idea. Virginia banned use of this defense this year - this year

Amazing.

[Chainfire]

19. So a man stomps another man do death, and the judges releases him without bond

because he is not a threat to society? That judge must be a hell of a football fan.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. Welcome to Blacksburg! (n/t)

[underpants]

23. That's the most apt response. 👍

😖

[OldBaldy1701E]

24. So

50 millions years ago (1990-1991, but it seems that long ago), I was in a band that often played in Blacksburg. I always enjoyed my time there, but it was still Virginia, it was still the South, and regardless of the pretty posters and all the nice talk, racism and bigotry were still in full display. And, the jocks were still jocks, even if a number of them were big fans. I agree with the other person who said that this sounds like a meetup that happened, then the jock turned on him... probably because word was about to get out, or he knew someone was going to find out. Of course, bear in mind that 'sexual encounter' can mean a quick hand job, so it is very possible that he did not realize that this was a guy on that first meeting (we won't discuss why someone eighteen years old was with a 40 year old, regardless of how much this smacks of a 'paid encounter'), but seeing as it could have been simple to just leave it alone tells me that either someone else found out, or someone was looking like they were going to find out.

[underpants]

25. A. He's an 18 year old kid. B. He's afraid someone might find out

This labeling him forever C. He’s not a stranger to violence

Maybe he really didn’t know the first time. They rebooked up so either he still didn’t know or he was planning on doing this. Either way I think he didn’t want anyone to know.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

26. One of the dangers of being a "catfish", but...

... obviously that kind of reaction wasn't justified!

Just chalk it up to the risk of trying to meet anyone that way, and peacefully leave!

[RicROC]

27. he returned to the home of the victim 6 weeks after 'playing' with him?

That's premeditated murder. 1st degree murder, not 2nd degree, in my non-legal opinion