EMANUEL MURRAY - 4 Months (2009) - / Convicted: Mother's boyfriend, Richard McTear Jr - Tampa FL

TAMPA - A 4-month-old baby was found dead on the shoulder of Interstate 275 this morning.

Investigators believe he was thrown from a car, and the man suspected of throwing him is still on the loose.




The baby, Emanuel Wesley Murray, was the son of 17-year-old Jasmine Bedwell of Tampa, who called police just after 3 a.m. to report a domestic dispute.


According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Bedwell told officers that her ex-boyfriend, 22-year-old Richard McTear Jr., had come to her apartment on North 15th Street, where he argued with her and battered her and her infant son.

At one point during the fight, McTear threw the child to the concrete, according to the sheriff's office. McTear then took the baby and fled, investigators said.

A passer-by found the child's body next to the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 near Fowler Avenue. The child was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m.

Investigators found the car McTear was driving at his home, 1601 River Cove. They are still looking for McTear.

All but one of the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 are closed at Fowler.

http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/may/05/baby-found-dead-27237/video-news/

toetag wrote:TAMPA - A 4-month-old baby was found dead on the shoulder of Interstate 275 this morning.

Investigators believe he was thrown from a car, and the man suspected of throwing him is still on the loose.

The baby, Emanuel Wesley Murray, was the son of 17-year-old Jasmine Bedwell of Tampa, who called police just after 3 a.m. to report a domestic dispute.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Bedwell told officers that her ex-boyfriend, 22-year-old Richard McTear Jr., had come to her apartment on North 15th Street, where he argued with her and battered her and her infant son.

At one point during the fight, McTear threw the child to the concrete, according to the sheriff's office. McTear then took the baby and fled, investigators said.

A passer-by found the child's body next to the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 near Fowler Avenue. The child was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m.

Investigators found the car McTear was driving at his home, 1601 River Cove. They are still looking for McTear.

All but one of the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 are closed at Fowler.

[url=http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/may/05/baby-found-dead-27237/video-news/

http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/may/05/baby-found-dead-27237/video-news/[/quote[/url]]

God bless that poor child! take him in your arms and comfort him. :.0 :.0 :.0 :.0 :.0

Just 4-months old! This makes me sick.

Posted: Tuesday, 05 May 2009 12:50PM Baby Thrown From Car Dies, Suspect Arrested AP

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A baby was found dead after being thrown from a car in Tampa and authorities have captured the suspect - the mother's ex-boyfriend. Hillsborough County authorities said they found 21-year-old Richard Anthony McTear Jr. Tuesday morning, hours after police say threw the child from the car. Police say he got into a fight with the baby's mother and attacked both of them. He then fled with the child in his blue Chevrolet Impala. The three-month-old baby, Emanuel Wesley Murray, was found near Interstate 275.

http://www.thesky973.com/pages/4334901.php

Teresa wrote:they need to take this guy and bash his head into a cement road untill he "expires"......We have got to change the laws to make it harder on people who harm our kids...

You are so right. This ruined my day. I need to stay away from the morning news because it is happening more frequently than once a day. It is just hard to stomach. I hope the arresting officers beat th shit out of him and that they finish the job at the jailhouse. JMO. Save our children. Protect our children.

Why God Takes Children
Author Unknown

When God calls little children
To dwell with Him above,
We mortals sometimes question
The wisdom of His love.
For no heartache compares with,
The death of one small child,
Who does so much to make our world,
Seem so wonderful and mild.
Perhaps God tires of calling
The aged to His fold,
So He picks a rosebud
Before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them,
And so He takes but few,
To make the land of heaven
More beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult
Still somehow we must try,
The saddest word mankind
knows will always be Good-by.
So when a little child departs,
We who are left behind
Must realize God loves children,
Angels are hard to find.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1005701.ece

"
The death of 3-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray is not the stereotypical story of a child lost in an indifferent and broken social services system. The caseworkers caring for him and his teenage mother did many things right. They also made a number of fundamental mistakes and lost sight of the harsh realities of the everyday lives of many people in protective care. As difficult as many of these situations are to manage, the state Department of Children and Families and its contract providers need to do better.
Authorities say 21-year-old Richard McTear Jr. attacked his girlfriend, 17-year-old Jasmine Bedwell, in her Hillsborough County home May 5. He threw her newborn to the concrete, authorities said, before driving away with the child and flinging him from the car onto I-275. McTear has pleaded not guilty to murder.
...."

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/20/202012/tampa-man-pleads-not-guilty-babys-death-tossing/news-breaking/


Published: May 20, 2009

Updated: 05/20/2009 08:12 pm

Related Links



"TAMPA - Shackled in chains and surrounded by deputies, the man accused of tossing an infant from a car had some parting words for the baby's distraught mother as he was led out of the courtroom.
"I love you, Jasmine," Richard Anthony McTear Jr. said over his shoulder after pleading not guilty to murder, kidnapping and other charges today.

...."

Newly released documents say a 21-year-old Tampa man accused of
throwing an infant out of his car window in May had been threatening to
hurt the child.Richard McTear Jr. is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 3-month-old son of a woman he'd been dating.The
child's mother, 17-year-old Jasmine Bedwell, told police that McTear
was jealous of another man and had threatened to hurt her and her son,
Emanuel Murray.In documents released Tuesday, Bedwell said McTear beat, scratched and choked her, and threw the baby down on the pavement.He fled with the child, whose body was found later by the side of Interstate 275.Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for McTear.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Newly released documents say a 21-year-old Tampa man accused of
throwing an infant out of his car window in May had been threatening to
hurt the child.Richard McTear Jr. is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 3-month-old son of a woman he'd been dating.The
child's mother, 17-year-old Jasmine Bedwell, told police that McTear
was jealous of another man and had threatened to hurt her and her son,
Emanuel Murray.In documents released Tuesday, Bedwell said McTear beat, scratched and choked her, and threw the baby down on the pavement.He fled with the child, whose body was found later by the side of Interstate 275.Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for McTear.

Another WASTE OF OXYGEN that should be put down like a rabid animal DO NOT WASTE THE TAXPAYERS MONEY ON THIS ONE - PUT HIM DOWN NOW - HE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED ONE MORE BREATH OF AIR, ONE MORE HOT MEAL, ONE MORE NIGHT'S SLEEP

Court documents reveal the escalating violence that appeared to be building inside suspected baby killer Richard McTear. Nearly
500 pages of documents released Tuesday shows days before investigators
say McTear tossed Emanuel Murray from a car window on Interstate 275 on
May 5 he had threatened to kill the baby's mother Jasmine Bedwell with
a gun. Bedwell, 17, also told detectives during a lengthy
interview Mctear poured bleach on her, choked her and even bit her
several times while beating her repeatedly. During an interview with FOX 13 after her baby's death some of the scratch marks on Jasmine's neck were visible. Documents
show on the day of the baby's murder McTear also abused Emanuel by
throwing him across the room and against the wall, even spitting on the
baby. Bedwell told detective she felt guilty leaving her son alone with
McTear while she ran to get help. Former Hillsborough County
sheriff's detective Rod Reder investigated domestic violence cases for
years and says Florida has one grim statistic that never seems to go
away. "Year after year after year, it's the mothers live in
boyfriends that kill the children. There is no bond between the child
and the live in boyfriend they get frustrated and they say they snap,"
Reder said. McTear, 21, is being held at the Orient Road Jail
without bond on charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and
aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty. Bedwell is suing the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Children and Families.

TAMPA, Fla. --
A Tampa man accused of throwing an infant out of his car window in May
has been found not guilty in a separate battery case.Juror's
on Wednesday accepted 22-year-old Richard McTear Jr.'s explanation that
his ex-girlfriend, Jasmine Bedwell, had provoked the March 2009
confrontation and that he was only pushing her out of the way to leave.McTear
still faces a first-degree murder charge. Authorities say McTear threw
Bedwell's 3-month-old son down on concrete during a May argument. Then
he allegedly took the infant away and threw him out of a car on
Interstate 275.


The child was found dead by the side of the road. Jurors in the battery case were not told about the murder charge.McTear, who has pleaded not guilty, could face the death penalty if convicted.

The mother of a 3-month-old found dead on the shoulder of Interstate
275 in 2009 pleaded not guilty Monday to misdemeanor
charges of making threatening telephone calls.

She also faces two other misdemeanor
charges in an unrelated incident.

A pregnant Jasmine Bedwell, 18, appeared before County Judge
Margret T. Courtney, who appointed the public defender's office to
represent Bedwell and set a status hearing for July 15.

Bedwell's son, Emanuel Wesley Murray, was discovered by a motorist on
the side of I-275 on May 5, 2009. Her former boyfriend, Richard McTear
Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated
child abuse, battery and burglary.

Bedwell faces 60 days in jail if convicted of making the calls.
Prosecutors have offered her a 10-day sentence if she pleads guilty.

Hillsborough County deputies said that on March 22, they spoke with a 36-year-old
victim of alleged harassing or obscene calls from
Bedwell. The victim said she wasn't sure why she was mad at her but
that she sent text messages and made calls with obscene messages and threats of violence.

The woman tried to obtain a protective order
against Bedwell, saying she feared for her safety and the safety of her
children. But Circuit Judge Christine Vogel ruled March 23 that the woman provide
insufficient evidence to grant an injunction.

She also faces unrelated domestic violence battery and criminal mischief charges.

Police said that on May 28, Bedwell hit another woman and then did
less than $200 in damage to the woman's car.

Bedwell is scheduled to enter pleas to those charges Aug. 26 before County Judge Nick Nazaretian.

She faces up to a year in jail on the domestic battery charge and 60 days for the criminal mischief.

Bedwell was accused of making harassing phone calls to a different woman
in October following a negative comment the victim made about her dead child, a Tampa
police report states. In November, that case was closed because the
victim - who also had dated Emanuel Murray Sr., the boy's father - ultimately didn't seek prosecution.

Police said McTear forced his way into Bedwell's apartment, beat her
and threw a baby carrier with the child inside against a wall, causing
Emanuel to fall to a concrete floor. They say he then drove off with the
child, throwing Emanuel onto the shoulder of I-275.

McTear's trial is set to begin Dec. 6.

A jury acquitted McTear in February of attacking Bedwell in March
2009. Prosecutors in May dismissed battery and burglary charges filed
against McTear. In that case he was accused of attacking her and a
neighbor and breaking into the neighbor's apartment on March 18, 2009.

Trial delayed again for man accused of tossing 3-month-old onto I-275


Richard McTear is accused of killing Emanuel Murray on May 5, 2009, when he threw the child from a moving car onto the shoulder of Interstate 275.

By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 25, 2010
Updated: October 25, 2010 - 10:48 AM
TAMPA --
A judge has once again continued the trial of a man accused of kidnapping a 3-month-old and tossing him out of a moving car.

Circuit Judge William Fuente today granted a defense request to postpone the trial of Richard McTear Jr., resetting it for July 18.

McTear's lawyers said they couldn't be ready for McTear's scheduled Dec. 6 trial. They asked for at least another four months to prepare.

Fuente told defense lawyers and prosecutors to huddle and agree on a new date. He said he wouldn't delay the trial again. He already had continued the case in June.

Prosecutors and defense reviewed their trial schedules and vacation dates before agreeing to July 18.

McTear is accused of killing Emanuel Wesley Murray on May 5, 2009. Police said he forced his way into the apartment of his girlfriend, Jasmine Bedwell, beat her and threw a baby carrier with the child inside against a wall, causing Emanuel to fall to a concrete floor. They say he then drove off with the child, throwing Emanuel from a moving car and onto the shoulder of Interstate 275, where he was pronounced dead.

McTear has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers say there is no evidence tying him to any car on the day of the baby's death. McTear faces the death penalty. Assistant Public Defender Michael Peacock said there were a number of motions the defense has yet prepared for the penalty phase of the trial should it go that far.

Fuente gave both sides until May 1 to do all their pretrial preparations.

A jury in February acquitted McTear of attacking Bedwell in March 2009.

Prosecutors dismissed battery and burglary charges filed against McTear. In that case he was accused of attacking Bedwell and a neighbor and breaking into the neighbor's apartment on March 18, 2009. He said Bedwell initiated that fight by hitting him on the back with a bottle of household cleaner as he tried to leave the apartment.

http://beta2.tbo.com/news/news/2010/oct/25/trial-delayed-again-for-man-accused-of-tossing-3-m-ar-21118/

09-CF-007933 MOTION/PENDING CASE 01/20/2012 08:30:00 FUENTE ANNEX 401 N JEFFERSON ST TAMPA CR51A

http://publicrecord.hillsclerk.com/oridev/criminal_pack.sch?pcSearchMode=NS&pnPidm=908893&pcCaseId=09-CF-007933&pnCnt=3&pcFirst=RICHARD&pcLast=MCTEAR&pcMi=ANTHONY&pcSuf=JR&pcId=@908856&pcByear=1987&pcPtyp=D001&pcDefStat=Opened&pdInit=05-MAY-09&pcCaseStat=Opened&pcCtyp=CM&pcLocn=TA&pcPref=&pcWarrant=&pcCaseDscr=CAPITAL%20MURDER&pcDiv=TR2&pcCourtType=CF&pnCaseYrFr=1970&pnCaseYrTo=2011&pcCtypCL=&pcLocnCL=

Case NumberEvent DescriptionDateStart TimeJudgeLocationRoom

09-CF-007933	STATUS REVIEW-PENDING	03/30/2012	08:30:00	FUENTE	ANNEX 401 N JEFFERSON ST TAMPA	CR51A

http://publicrecord.hillsclerk.com/oridev/criminal_pack.sch?pcSearchMode=NS&pnPidm=908893&pcCaseId=09-CF-007933&pnCnt=3&pcFirst=RICHARD&pcLast=MCTEAR&pcMi=ANTHONY&pcSuf=JR&pcId=@908856&pcByear=1987&pcPtyp=D001&pcDefStat=Opened&pdInit=05-MAY-09&pcCaseStat=Opened&pcCtyp=CM&pcLocn=TA&pcPref=&pcWarrant=&pcCaseDscr=CAPITAL%20MURDER&pcDiv=TR2&pcCourtType=CF&pnCaseYrFr=1970&pnCaseYrTo=2011&pcCtypCL

Judge declares mistrial in Richard McTear baby death case

By Peter Jamison
Tuesday, August 20, 2013

TAMPA — A Tampa mother's unexpected testimony has temporarily derailed the trial of the man accused of killing her infant son and flinging him from a car on Interstate 275.

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the murder case of Richard McTear, ruling that Jasmine Bedwell had poisoned proceedings in the newly launched trial by testifying that McTear threatened to shoot her son in the face and urinate on him.

The accusation — gasped out amid tears by the 22-year-old Bedwell soon after she took the stand as the state's key witness Monday afternoon — had originally emerged in a 2010 trial at which McTear was found not guilty of battering her.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente ordered last year that the alleged threat should not come up at McTear's trial over the 2009 killing of 3-month-old Emanuel Murray Jr.

"The jurors heard testimony they should not have heard under any circumstances. In this court's conclusion, a mistrial is necessary," Fuente said Tuesday morning. "I'll say this: I do this with extreme reluctance. I'm not suggesting that any counsel did anything inappropriate."

McTear, 25, is charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he attacked Bedwell, his then-girlfriend, and threw her baby across the room in May 2009. He then drove off with the child and threw him out the window on I-275 near Fowler Avenue, prosecutors say.

If convicted, McTear could be sentenced to death.

The mistrial ruling will require a new round of jury selection, which attorneys said would likely not happen before December. McTear will remain in jail as he awaits a new trial.

On Monday, Assistant State Attorney Ron Gale had asked Bedwell about phone calls from McTear the day before Emanuel's death. Bedwell said McTear had called her and "told me that he was going to come over and shoot my baby in the face and p--- on him, in his face, and he was going to kill both of us."

Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock immediately asked the judge to declare a mistrial, pointing to the court's previous order that the accusation was not admissible.

Gale acknowledged Bedwell's testimony was "clearly … a violation" of the order but said he had not expected her to refer to the March 2009 phone call, which took place about six weeks before Emanuel's death.

On Tuesday morning, Gale told Fuente he had not specifically told Bedwell in advance not to bring up the alleged threat.

"I did not instruct her during our preparation that 'you are not to say this specifically,' " Gale said. "It did not come up."

Gale revealed another twist that could have been problematic had the trial proceeded.

He said he had learned that Bedwell, while waiting to take the stand Monday at the State Attorney's Office, was receiving text messages from her current boyfriend.

That boyfriend: Emanuel Murray Sr., the baby's father, who was in prison on gun charges when his son died.

While watching the trial Monday, he began firing off "angry" texts to Bedwell when he learned from testimony that she had conducted a sexual relationship with another man besides McTear while Murray was incarcerated.

Gale said the texts might have violated court rules about witnesses not being exposed to other witnesses' testimony.

Bedwell was not present in court Tuesday.

The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office declined to comment on the mistrial ruling.

Bob Dekle, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, said unplanned testimony happens more than lawyers would like.

In death penalty cases such as McTear's, Dekle said, judges are particularly cautious about ensuring proper trial procedure, since convictions are intensively reviewed on appeal.

"Things that would not even provoke a yawn at the appellate level in a grand larceny case will get you a reversal in a death penalty case," he said.

Public Defender Julianne Holt praised the steps Fuente had taken to ensure a fair trial.

"Although he expressed reluctance, I think we all understand that here, in this country, a fair trial is paramount," Holt said. "We need to, I think, greatly respect the fact that the judge had the courage to do what he did today."

Juror Lori Reyes of Tampa said that the ruling was frustrating in light of the time she had devoted to the trial but that Bedwell's statement would have been "very difficult" to ignore.

"When I first heard that, the first thing that went through my mind was 'premeditated,' " she said, referring to the premeditated murder charge against McTear.

Staff photojournalist Joseph Garnett Jr. contributed to this report. Peter Jamison can be reached at pjamison@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3337.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/judge-declares-mistrial-in-mctear-baby-death-case/2137337

Richard McTear, accused of killing baby, to be retried in July 2014

TAMPA — A new trial date has been set for the Tampa man accused of throwing his girlfriend's baby from a moving car on Interstate 275.

Richard McTear, 25, will have to wait until July 7 to be retried for the killing of 3-month-old Emanuel Murray Jr. A judge declared a mistrial in his murder trial last month after Emanuel's mother broke down in tears on the witness stand, accusing McTear of threatening to shoot the baby in the face and urinate on him.

read more:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/richard-mctear-accused-of-throwing-baby-from-car-on-i-275-to-be-retried-in/2141348

Prosecutor outlines evidence against McTear in infant’s death

By Elaine Silvestrini, Tribune Staff
Published: July 22, 2014
Updated: July 22, 2014 at 08:45 PM

TAMPA — Not even 4 months old, Emanuel Wesley Murray Jr. was found dead on the side of Interstate 275 five years ago, covered head to toe in “road rash,” a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday morning.

The infant died of “multiple and severe” head injuries, Assistant State Attorney Ronald Gale said in his opening statement in the trial of Richard McTear Jr. McTear is charged with killing the baby, the son of his girlfriend, Jasmine Bedwell, in a jealous rage.

Although authorities say McTear threw the infant out his car window after beating him and snatching him from Bedwell, defense lawyer Michael Peacock said there’s no evidence anyone threw the baby out of a car window. Peacock told jurors the entire prosecution case rests on the credibility of Bedwell, who he said has a history of untruthfulness.

Tuesday marked the second attempt at a trial for McTear. The first derailed during Bedwell’s testimony, when she talked about a statement McTear had made but that the judge had previously ruled was inadmissible. Circuit Judge William Fuente declared a mistrial then, and jury selection began anew last week. On Tuesday, the trial began.

If McTear is convicted of first-degree murder, the prosecution plans to seek a death sentence.

Bedwell has yet to take the stand this time around.

The baby’s body was discovered in the early morning hours of May 5, 2009, on the side of the highway. A photojournalist for Channel 13 saw what he first thought was a doll on his way in to work. The photographer doubled back and realized the doll was actually the infant.

Gale said the “road rash,” deep scrapes often seen on people involved in motorcycle accidents, was inflicted at or just before the baby’s time of death.

Earlier that night, Bedwell, a foster child living independently with her baby, went to the apartment of a male friend, Liderrius Moore, to watch movies, according to the prosecution, as well as testimony Tuesday from Moore and his mother.

Later, Moore and his mother took Bedwell home, and Moore carried the baby in his car seat inside the apartment and left.

Gale said after Moore left, an enraged McTear emerged from the bedroom and attacked Bedwell, hitting and biting her.

McTear took Bedwell’s cell phone, got up and got himself a drink, Gale said. He took a can of soda from the refrigerator and poured it on the baby’s face, Gale said. The baby began to cry.

McTear, the prosecutor said, flung the car seat across the room and told Bedwell to make the baby be quiet. As she was trying to calm the baby down, McTear walked toward the bedroom, and she saw a chance to get away.

She grabbed the baby and fumbled with the door lock. McTear lunged, Gale said. McTear grabbed the baby, and Bedwell fled to a neighbor’s apartment where she called 911, Gale said. Deputies found her outside frantic and crying. She told them McTear had beaten her and taken her baby.

Later that morning, the baby’s body was discovered on the highway.

After a manhunt, McTear was found hiding from police, Gale said.

Gale told jurors they will hear evidence linking McTear to the crime, including the baby’s DNA in blood on his shorts and on the console of his cousin’s car. Bedwell’s DNA was also in blood on McTear’s shorts, the prosecutor said. An expert will testify that bite marks on Bedwell are consistent with McTear’s teeth.

But defense lawyer Michael Peacock said the expert testimony will be disputed. The case, he said, will hang entirely on Bedwell’s testimony.

“If you cannot believe Jasmine Bedwell, you will find there is no evidence against Mr. McTear,” Peacock told jurors.

The defense lawyer noted that McTear, after his arrest, told reporters, “It’s a dirty game.” In the past, when McTear said that, he was referring to a situation in which the wrong person was being blamed for something, Peacock said.

“There’s no doubt that Emanuel Murray Jr. died from great trauma,” Peacock said, “but how and why and who are not so clear… That little person, we all can agree, was an innocent victim of whatever occurred and whoever did it…. We do not know who killed Emanuel, but it was not Richard Anthony McTear Jr.”

http://tbo.com/news/crime/prosecutor-outlines-evidence-against-mctear-in-infants-death-20140722/

Testimony in McTear trial to resume Monday

WFTS Webteam
6:22 AM, Jul 25, 2014
7:53 PM, Jul 25, 2014

A video of Richard McTear's arrest and walk into the Hillsborough County Jail in May 2009 was played for the jury on day four of his murder trial.

McTear is accused of throwing his ex-girlfriend's infant out of the car window along I-275 back in 2009.

In the video, McTear is seen walking in handcuffs with deputies through a group of reporters. A reporter asks McTear whether he threw the baby from the car and his response, which is heard on the video, was "It's a dirty game."

The judge allowed the video to be entered into evidence despite an objection by McTear's defense, who argued that his response was not relevant and instead, lyrics to a rap song.

After a lunch break, Dr. Laura Hair, Dep. Chief Medical Examiner for Hillsborough County, took the stand. Jurors wiped tears away as they heard Dr. Hair's testimony of the injuries the baby sustained, including road rash, multiple skull fractures, and hemorrhaging.

The cause of death, Dr. Hair said, was blunt impact to his head with skull fractures, and it was a homicide, though Dr. Hair could not pinpoint the time of the baby's death.

Testimony wrapped up mid-afternoon Friday, capping a week of emotionally-charged, sometimes gruesome testimony.

During Thursday's testimony, Jerry Bird, a television news photographer on his way to work around 3:30 a.m., testified he saw a "dark mass" in the emergency lane on the side of the road and thought it might be a doll. "But the more I started thinking about it, I said, what if it isn't a doll?" Bird said. Bird got off the interstate and turned around, even running a red light, to find out what it was that he saw. "I could tell right away it was a human baby," he said.

Earlier in the day, two Hillsborough County deputies who were the first to respond to the scene testified the baby was not breathing and had road rash, head and neck injuries. Efforts to revive the baby were not successful, they said. Paramedics declared the baby dead at the scene at 4:31 a.m.

The mother of McTear's own child, Re'Chell Hill testified McTear threatened them too, after baby Emmanuel was found dead. "He indicated to me either 'you're next' or 'your baby is next' or 'ya'll are next,'' she said. But she also said he was a "phenomenal provider," and that she frequently visits him in jail.

The trial will resume early Monday. If convicted, McTear could face the death penalty.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/richard-mctear-murder-trial-day-4

McTear trial: Defense points finger at baby's mother

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

TAMPA --
Jurors heard Richard McTear's side of the story Tuesday as defense attorneys presented their case in his murder trial. McTear will not testify in his own defense.

He is accused of throwing his former girlfriend's baby out of his car window in May 2009. McTear Jr., 26, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and other offenses in the death of 3-month-old Emanuel Murray.

On Tuesday, the defendant’s father took the stand. Richard McTear Sr. told the jury his son never wanted to hurt baby Emanuel.

Instead, he pointed at the baby's mother, Jasmine Bedwell. McTear Sr. said he saw text messages between his son and Bedwell that worried him.

“She was talking like she would harm herself or harm her baby,” he said.

McTear's father said he saw those scary text messages a month before baby Emanuel was found dead on the side of Interstate-275.

But prosecutors shot back.

“When you saw that text message what did you do? Did you call 911? No? Did you call DCF?” asked the prosecutor.

“No I didn’t,” McTear Sr. answered.

McTear also wasn't able to produce those text messages for authorities. They were never found on his phone. Still, the defense said McTear wasn't responsible for the heinous crime.

On Monday, prosecutors showed the court pictures of bite marks on Bedwell that allegedly occurred during an altercation with McTear.

According to prosecutors, Bedwell returned home on the night of the incident to find her ex-boyfriend McTear hiding in her home. She said McTear attacked her—then her baby.

McTear's defense team says there's no proof the baby was thrown from the car. They say McTear went to Bedwell's apartment to pick up his clothes, not beat her and take the baby.

McTear has pleaded not guilty. If McTear is convicted, he could face the death penalty. Closing arguments are slated to begin Wednesday.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2014/7/29/defense_set_to_prese.html

Richard McTear receives life in prison for baby's murder

WFTS Webteam, Erik Waxler, Jacqueline Ingles
12:37 PM, Aug 4, 2014
1:49 AM, Aug 6, 2014

Richard McTear Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for throwing a 3-month-old baby from a vehicle on Interstate 275.

Judge William Fuente sentenced McTear immediately after receiving the life-sentence recommendation from jurors.

McTear, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder last week by the same jury. He had been accused of throwing his former girlfriend’s baby, Emanuel Murray Jr., from a vehicle five years ago.

Just before the sentencing, the child’s mother, Jasmine Bedwell, spoke to the court.

“I’m happy I have justice for my son. That’s all I wanted,” she said. “I just never thought I’d be standing here today.”

“I just want to thank everybody,” she continued through sobs. “I’m happy. I waited and I waited for this day. I’m just happy I have justice for my son. That’s it.”

McTear showed no apparent emotion after the verdict was read. After the judge sentenced him on other charges including aggravated child abuse and battery, McTear told the judge he had a question but that he’d ask his lawyers.

Earlier Tuesday, jurors were questioned by the judge and attorneys following reports of a run-in with McTear's family in the parking garage following court on Monday. A juror felt the jurors were followed by a relative of McTear who tried to listen to their conversation.

Each juror was asked if the incident would sway their judgment during the sentencing phase, but all stated to the court that they could remain impartial.

Following the questioning, the defense requested a mistrial, which Fuente denied.

McTear's mother, Jackline Patton, gave 30 minutes of emotional testimony in which she broke down and cried multiple times as she admitted to beating her son and to being a drug addict.

"How could I take care of him when I could not take care of myself?" Patton testified.

Patton told jurors she spent the first five years of her son's life behind bars. He was raised by his maternal grandmother.

According to Patton, she was not very involved in her son's life once she was released from prison because she started using drugs.

It was in a drug-fueled rage that Patton stabbed her son when he was 17. Patton said she went to the store and spent money on McTear's daughter, her granddaughter, and when she returned home she demanded her son pay her back.

"[It'd only] be right if he replaced my money with drugs," Patton explained.

In between loud sobs, Patton also recalled physically abusing her son, pointing to an incident in which she threw him outside of the home while he was ill and threw his crutches on top of him.

"He said, 'Momma, I got no place to go,'" Patton recalled.

Patton also discussed McTear's three other biological children and his role as a father. Patton described her son as caring, loving and very concerned about the care of his children.

Following Patton, neuropsychologist Harry Krop, testified. Krop told jurors that McTear struggled to understand his mother's homosexuality and this impacted his frame of mind.

"His mother was totally bald and dressed like a man," Krop said. "That was truly difficult for him to comprehend and understand."

He added McTear has an average IQ.

Subsequently, jurors heard from McTear's pastor at Heartsong Church, his maternal grandmother Willie Patton and a jailhouse pastor.

"No doubt in my mind he'd enhance the prison system," said Pastor Joe Johnson when asked by defense attorneys if McTear would be suitable for prison.

During closing arguments, the state asked the jury to remember the age of the victim in the crime.

"What we have here is a 3-month-old baby who was incapable of physically resisting, incapable of trying to flee, incapable of uttering a word in protest," said prosecutor Ron Gale. He then asked jurors to recommend McTear be executed.

The defense asked jurors to consider McTear's childhood when deliberating, with both sides agreeing it was "lousy." "He was subjected to some extensive, horrific, traumatic experiences," one of his defense lawyers argued.

"Given his history, this man doesn't deserve to die. People in his life made him the way he is," said the defense lawyer before asking jurors to show mercy.

On Monday, the court did not hear from baby Emanuel's parents during the sentencing phase of the trial. Instead, statements from both of them were read in court by Patricia Henley.

"No one will ever be able to understand the pain I feel every day for losing my very first child," Henley read from the child's mother, Jasmine Bedwell.

Bedwell took the stand for some grueling testimony during the trial, but Monday someone else read her words.

"The day he came into the world, I was filled with hope and dreams for him. Now he will never be able to fulfill them," read Henley.

Emanuel's father was in prison when his son was born and when he died.

In his statement, he said he prays that no one else will ever have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a violent manner.

"He was too young to even speak. He had a loving family that cared about him deeply."


http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-tampa/jury-to-decide-if-richard-mctear-lives-or-dies