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Ex-Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute found not guilty of murder charges
This is from May, and this is the first I've heard of the verdict.
BREAKING
Ex-Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute found not guilty of murder charges
Victoria Weber, news editor May 28, 2022
After a three-day trial at the Montgomery County Circuit Court, former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty of murdering Jerry Paul Smith. ... If convicted of the second-degree murder charge, Etute would face five to 40 years in prison.
According to court testimony, on May 31, 2021, Etute beat Smith to death in Smith’s Blacksburg apartment. ... The two came in contact with each other over Tinder, a dating app, with Smith indicating he was a 21-year-old named Angie Renee.
On April 10, 2021, Smith engaged in oral sex on Etute at Smith’s apartment, which Etute later returned to on May 31, 2021, with two former teammates in an effort to confirm Smith’s gender identity. ... According to Etute’s testimony, he entered Smith’s apartment alone while two former teammates waited outside. While interacting with Smith in his apartment, Etute said he “felt around” and used his phone’s flashlight to discern Smith’s sex, and that Smith seized Etute’s genitals after Etute discovered Smith’s identity, and Etute struck Smith in response. ... Etute’s attorneys claimed he acted in self-defense, and Etute testified in court that he believed Smith was reaching for a gun under the mattress during the altercation, a claim not mentioned when police first questioned Etute.
{snip}
The jury also had the ability to convict Etute of voluntary manslaughter but chose to acquit him instead on the basis of Etute’s self-defense argument. ... It is unknown if Etute will return to playing football for Virginia Tech.
Ex-Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute found not guilty of murder charges
Victoria Weber, news editor May 28, 2022
After a three-day trial at the Montgomery County Circuit Court, former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty of murdering Jerry Paul Smith. ... If convicted of the second-degree murder charge, Etute would face five to 40 years in prison.
According to court testimony, on May 31, 2021, Etute beat Smith to death in Smith’s Blacksburg apartment. ... The two came in contact with each other over Tinder, a dating app, with Smith indicating he was a 21-year-old named Angie Renee.
On April 10, 2021, Smith engaged in oral sex on Etute at Smith’s apartment, which Etute later returned to on May 31, 2021, with two former teammates in an effort to confirm Smith’s gender identity. ... According to Etute’s testimony, he entered Smith’s apartment alone while two former teammates waited outside. While interacting with Smith in his apartment, Etute said he “felt around” and used his phone’s flashlight to discern Smith’s sex, and that Smith seized Etute’s genitals after Etute discovered Smith’s identity, and Etute struck Smith in response. ... Etute’s attorneys claimed he acted in self-defense, and Etute testified in court that he believed Smith was reaching for a gun under the mattress during the altercation, a claim not mentioned when police first questioned Etute.
{snip}
The jury also had the ability to convict Etute of voluntary manslaughter but chose to acquit him instead on the basis of Etute’s self-defense argument. ... It is unknown if Etute will return to playing football for Virginia Tech.
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