BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
FLORIDA TODAY
For two hours Thursday, jurors heard Justin Heyne adamantly deny over and over that he shot his roommates and their 5-year-old daughter to death in 2006.
In a DVD replay of Heyne's interview with police after the March 30, 2006, killings, Titusville police Detective Arthur Esposito told the handcuffed Titusville man several people saw him leaving the scene and one of the victims fingered him as the shooter.
Esposito asked Heyne if the killings were a mistake and said he wanted to help him, but that couldn't happen unless Heyne took responsibility, which a judge and jury would look more favorably upon in court.
Heyne wouldn't budge.
"What am I gonna benefit killing a family that put a roof over my head and everything I ask for, they give it to me?" Heyne asked the detective.
A statement made later in the tape by Heyne, who sat at the defense table with his head down while the tape played, drew looks from several jurors: "I don't know
what happened or how it happened. There's sick people out there."
Heyne's lawyers say he fatally shot his best friend, Benjamin Hamilton, and best friend's girlfriend, Sarah Buckoski, in self-defense, but accidentally killed youngster Ivory Hamilton when she ran into the midst of "an argument that just went horribly wrong."
Jurors will return today to hear the last hour of the police interview, in which prosecutors say Heyne confesses to killing the family during an argument with Benjamin Hamilton over a $300 debt.
The prosecution plans to wrap up their case today, when the defense will have a chance to put on testimony and evidence.
Testimony in the trial for 28-year-old Heyne began Tuesday, following five days of jury selection.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if Heyne is convicted of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder.
Additional Facts
What's next
Attorneys expect to wrap up testimony today and present closing arguments Monday before turning the case over to the jury. If needed, a penalty phase could start as early as Tuesday.
FLORIDA TODAY
For two hours Thursday, jurors heard Justin Heyne adamantly deny over and over that he shot his roommates and their 5-year-old daughter to death in 2006.
In a DVD replay of Heyne's interview with police after the March 30, 2006, killings, Titusville police Detective Arthur Esposito told the handcuffed Titusville man several people saw him leaving the scene and one of the victims fingered him as the shooter.
Esposito asked Heyne if the killings were a mistake and said he wanted to help him, but that couldn't happen unless Heyne took responsibility, which a judge and jury would look more favorably upon in court.
Heyne wouldn't budge.
"What am I gonna benefit killing a family that put a roof over my head and everything I ask for, they give it to me?" Heyne asked the detective.
A statement made later in the tape by Heyne, who sat at the defense table with his head down while the tape played, drew looks from several jurors: "I don't know
what happened or how it happened. There's sick people out there."
Heyne's lawyers say he fatally shot his best friend, Benjamin Hamilton, and best friend's girlfriend, Sarah Buckoski, in self-defense, but accidentally killed youngster Ivory Hamilton when she ran into the midst of "an argument that just went horribly wrong."
Jurors will return today to hear the last hour of the police interview, in which prosecutors say Heyne confesses to killing the family during an argument with Benjamin Hamilton over a $300 debt.
The prosecution plans to wrap up their case today, when the defense will have a chance to put on testimony and evidence.
Testimony in the trial for 28-year-old Heyne began Tuesday, following five days of jury selection.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if Heyne is convicted of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder.
Additional Facts
What's next
Attorneys expect to wrap up testimony today and present closing arguments Monday before turning the case over to the jury. If needed, a penalty phase could start as early as Tuesday.
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2 comments:
Well i'm glad that justin gets the death pentility. I miss and love all three of them.
i think your childhood shouldnt justify killing three people, especially an innocent child!!!!!!! rot in hell, mother @@@@@@
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