Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Isimemen David Etute appeared in a Montgomery County, Virginia court Wednesday, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Jerry Paul Smith Etute was arrested on June 2 and charged in the death of Blacksburg, Va., 40-year-old restaurant manager Jerry Smith after allegedly punching and stomping the 40-year-old multiple times on May 31 BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - A man found dead in Blacksburg this week died of blunt force injuries to the head, according to the Roanoke Medical Examiner's Office. Isimemen Etute, 19, was found not guilty of second degree murder by a Montgomery County jury on Friday for the beating death of Jerry Smith, 40, according to the Roanoke Times. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Published: 16:38 GMT, 10 June 2021 | Updated: 22:39 GMT, 10 June 2021, Jerry Paul Smith (pictured) was found beaten to death in his own apartment on June 1. He was released on $75,000 bond on Wednesday and is to remain under house arrest and electronic monitoring. Etute and his parents who left the courtroom through a back exit didnt have a statement to make at this time, according to Turk. His teeth had also been knocked out. The defense rested after calling Jordan Brunson, a former Virginia Tech teammate of Etute, on Friday morning. It can cover both assaults and murders, and is punishable by 10 years to life in prison. Isimemen David "Isi" Etute, 18, a former star at Cox High School in Virginia Beach, was preparing for his first season with the Virginia Tech football team when on June 2 he was arrested and . Sometimes dual prosecutions are launched, such as those against the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd and against Dylann Roof, a white supremacist sentenced to death for a church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. Smith was let go recently from the management team at the Black Hen and Bar Blue in Blacksburg. Thetwo first met April 10 for oral sex, during which Etute was still under the impression Smith was a woman,Montgomery County Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt told theMontgomery County General District Court during a bond hearing on Wednesday morning. Etute had entered Virginia Tech at midterm and participated in training with the football team. Danica Roem, D-Prince William. This is horrific. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Turks hope now is that Etute is able to reclaim his life. There was a problem saving your notification. EXCLUSIVE - Revealed: Carol Kirkwood's secret toyboy fianc - 13 years her junior - is a divorced police 'Digital antidepressants' to be rolled out on the NHS as health bosses give eight apps and web-based therapy Jerry Paul Smith - Regionalobituaries.com | Regionalobituaries.com, Blacksburg murder suspect released on bond; lawyer says victim lured suspect with fake Tinder profile, Court hearing reveals new details in case of suspended Virginia Tech player charged in Blacksburg mans death, Do not sell or share my personal information. Etutes attorneys argued the beating was self-defense in a confrontation between the two in which the mans true identity was revealed. A suspended Virginia Tech Hokie linebacker took the stand in his own defense during his trial for killing a person who he alleges pretended to be a woman during an intimate encounter. Skeptical of AP African American Studies, Dems Introduce Resolution to Celebrate Black LGBTQ+ Americans, Latinx Trans Woman Killed in Houston in Apparent Murder-Suicide, Longtime Lesbian Activist Achebe Betty Powell Dies at 82. Teave teie seadme ja internetihenduse (nagu teie IP-aadressi) kohta, Sirvimis- ja otsingutegevused Yahoo veebilehtedel ja rakendustes. The man who hid the knife or this goofy, gullible kid, Turk said. Jerry was a restaurant manager and This is one of the proudest moments Ive ever had as a lawyer, Turk said. The suspended Hokie football player is accused of killing Jerry Paul Smith. He knew that worst case scenario he could have been looking at five to 40 years in the penitentiary on a second-degree murder conviction. Moore ultimately received a 25-year prison sentence. He was suspended from the squad last week. Thats just wrong.. The prosecution relied on expert testimony from the likes of state medical examiner Dr. Amy Tharp and forensic Detective Mike Czernicki to make sure the jury understood the level of damage Etute inflicted. Turk later addressed reporters outside of court. An autopsy revealed Smith, a restaurant worker, died from blunt force trauma to the head. The jury decided Friday evening not to charge Etute with second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jerry Paul Smith. This is trial by ambush, Jensen argued. Virginia Tech linebacker, Ismeme Etute, 18, allegedly stomped a man to death during a Tinder date after he discovered his date had been posing as a woman named 'Angie.' . At a bond hearing on Wednesday, attorneys for the state revealed that Etute allegedly told police he punched and stomped Smith . Mary Pettitt, the Montgomery County commonwealths attorney who is pursuing the second-degree murder charge, wrote in an email that Virginia law has a hate crime enhancement statute for assault and battery but not for murder. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! His title was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. Jerry Paul Smith, 40 known as Gigi by his nephews of Blacksburg, VA departed this life, June 1, 2021, at his home. The Roanoake Times reports that Isimemen Etute who claimed he'd been duped into thinking the man he later killed was a woman was acquitted of second-degree murder after a trial that lasted three days. Etute appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Sept. 23 in connection with the death of 40-year-old Jerry Paul Smith of Blacksburg on May 31. The legal strategy is thought to secure more lenient sentences for defendants who claim their violent acts were a response to learning a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. Brunson accompanied Etute to Smiths apartment along with Jalen Hampton on May 31. Born May 18, 1981 in Montgomery County, VA, he was the son of the late Jerry Wayne Smith and Sandra Cumbee Smith. Beaming Princess of Wales watches a young boy backflip during St David's Day Mike Tindall's latest money-making scheme! Defense attorney Jimmy Turk leaves the courthouse with the Etute family in Christiansburg in June. In anobituary, Smiths family remembered restaurant manager whose nephews nicknamed Gigi as a polite young man throughout his life. UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: The second-degree-murder charge against suspended Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was certified by a Montgomery County judge to a grand jury Thursday morning. A VirginiaTech linebacker allegedly stomped his Tinder date to death after he discovered the woman named 'Angie' he's had oral sex with was actually a man. The standard has been to yield to state prosecutions, but that has really changed over the past 10 years, particularly with the Obama administration, he said. In a June 9 hearing, prosecutors said Etute, who was at the time a linebacker on the college's football team, told police he punched Smith several times in the face after learning they were not anatomically female. Jurors will be tasked with deciding whether or not the defendant acted in self-defense, as he doesn't deny killing Smith. host: ITV boss who 'forced out Piers Morgan' Police inspect burnt items as hundreds of officers and volunteers with sniffer dogs scour parkland for From nightmares to candy cravings, the seemingly innocuous habits in children that may be early warning What you need to know about new number plates on cars being sold across the country TODAY. Isimemen Etute has three siblings including a younger sister, 15, with Down syndrome.Taking the stand, the suspect told court he has never been in trouble with the law and that he was a model student who graduated high school early to start at Virginia Tech in January.Etute is currently on suspension from Virginia Tech and its football team. CASEY: Some head-turning words by Rep. 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EXCLUSIVE: Lanzarote sticks to its guns and insists it WILL limit tourists and move away from relying on Nearly half of British viewers believe ethnic minorities and LGBT communities are over-represented on TV, Is YOUR wood burner at risk? Thetwo first met April 10 for oral sex, during which Etute was still under the impression Smith was a woman,Montgomery County Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt told theMontgomery County General District Court during a bond hearing on Wednesday morning. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. 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. The move drew an immediate objection from the prosecution, since Ehis Etute wasnt among witnesses submitted to the court by the defense during the pre-trial phase. Etute, an 18-year-old freshman who enrolled at midyear, was charged last week with killing Jerry Paul Smith, 40, a Blacksburg restaurant worker, in a downtown apartment on Memorial Day. Etute had previously been to Smiths residence on April 10 for oral sex under the impression that he was going to meet someone named Angie, attorneys for both the defense and prosecution told Judge Randal Duncan, according to the Roanoke Times. Dont target or lure anyone under that perception. Etute explained that he groped his partner, including trying to reach around for the genitals, and something felt off to him. Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute and his family have issued a statement to The Roanoke Times, Etute wasacquitted on second, Former Virginia Tech linebacker Isimemen Etute will get a chance to play football this season following his acquittal on a second-degree murde. Cops found the badly beaten mans body one day later, the newspaper reported. 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