Context: Isimemen Etute is an 18 male football player about to start at Virginia Tech. The medical examiner says Smith died from blunt force injuries to the head . Jerry Paul Smith . The prosecuting attorney, Patrick Jensen, also declined comment, referring questions to his boss, Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt. Absolutely horrific, Roem tweeted. The family asked that donations be sent in Jerry Smiths honor to St. Judes Childrens Hospital in lieu of flowers. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations most recent hate crime statistics, from 2019, 16.7% of hate crime victims were targeted because of their sexual orientation and 2.7% because of their gender identity. Smith would go as a man (Jerry Smith) in most contexts but would go as a woman (Angie Smith) on Tinder and when having sex with people. I cant imagine being him, Turk said. Jensen didnt defend Smiths conduct in his closing statement, but said the brutal beating showed the malice required for a second-degree murder conviction and the defendants contradictory statements were enough to cast doubt on the self-defense claim. For example, Congress expanded the definition of hate crimes in 2009, adding protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation and allowing a federal prosecution when it is in the public interest. Etute reportedly told police Smith did not assault him and that he heard bubbling and gurgling as he left Smiths home but didn't call the police. The trial took . Smith's body was discovered in his apartment the following day, Blacksburg Police said in arelease. The second-degree murder case drew widespread attention last year because of the unusual circumstances: a college athlete who admitted fatally beating an openly gay man who had posed as a woman on Tinder to initiate a sexual encounter. Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute, 19, was found not guilty on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Jerry Paul Smith, 40, after the jury deliberated for three hours. Staff writers Neil Harvey and Mike Niziolek contributed to this article. Etute, a freshman on Virginia Techs football team until his arrest, at which point he was suspended, faces a second-degree murder charge. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. Blacksburg police found Jerry Paul Smith dead in his North Main Street apartment on June 1. Fleenor asked the prosecution to consider if it would take a brief continuance in order to allow Etutes testimony since excluding a witness testimony was an extraordinary thing to do, but the defense withdrew the request for him to testify after a brief recess. If you find this was in the heat of passion, you shouldnt find him guilty of second degree murder, the crime would be voluntary manslaughter, but what Im telling you is this was not self-defense, Jensen said. Applebaum, 2013 WL 286230 (4th Cir. 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. Heaphy, who is now chief counsel at the University of Virginia, said the offender in such a case may claim that he was acting out of shock or surprise at the victims gender, or that deception was involved. It is the right decision and right now Im still just overwhelmed.. 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? Smiths family quickly left the room. At one point during Wednesdays bond hearing, Turk reportedly asked Etute clad in an orange prison jumpsuit how he had been impacted by the charges. He has been a reporter for The Roanoke Times for more than three decades. Female carer who bit off part of a pub landlady's ear during vicious bar brawl is jailed for 14 months. A freshman Virginia Tech linebacker charged with murder told police he fatally beat a man breaking every bone in his face for catfishing him on Tinder, prosecutors said. The police searching Smiths apartment found a knife hidden between the mattress and box spring in the spot where Etute alleged the attack took place. The 19-year-old is accused of fatally beating Jerry Paul Smith, 40, after the two met on Tinder in May 2021. Day three of the trial opened with the defense trying to call Etutes older brother Ehis to the stand. Edit: And for more proof that "Angie Renee" and Jerry Smith are the same person, the laptop with the Vineyard Vines sticker on "Angie's . The jury returned a true [] There is unfortunately a long history of framing transgender people as inherently deceptive or untruthful about their identities. Etute told police he thought he was meeting a woman named Angie with whom hed connected on Tinder, and whom hed met for oral sex on April 10. The 18-year-old was charged with the death of Blacksburg restaurant manager Jerry Paul Smith after allegedly punching and stomping the 40-year-old multiple times on May 31. Jensen did cede a bit of ground in his rebuttal remarks after Turks emotional final words. Etute then returned to the apartment on May 31 for another meet-up, at which point he discovered the person he had matched up with this time was male, according to Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Jason Morgan, citing details the now-suspended linebacker told cops. The medical examiner said he died of blunt force trauma, and the autopsy report revealed that every bone in his face was broken, he had missing teeth and he'd sustained multiple facial fractures, according to the paper. Dont target or lure anyone under that perception. Moore ultimately received a 25-year prison sentence. He testified about waiting outside Smiths apartment that night and feeling in his gut that something wasnt right. CHRISTIANSBURG Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty Friday in the beating death of Jerry Paul Smith following a three-day trial in Montgomery County Circuit Etute is charged with second-degree murder. View the profiles of people named Jerry Paul Smith. Jimmy Turk, Etutes attorney, insisted that his client was lured and suggested that there were mitigating circumstances relating to Etute's culpability. I feel like Ive let a lot of people down. Tharp testified that most of the bones in Smiths face were broken, he had bleeding and swelling inside his brain and he had multiple teeth knocked out. Jensen pointed out the differences in his statements and possible moments where he could have simply left Smiths apartment May 31. Etute explained that he groped his partner, including trying to reach around for the genitals, and something felt off to him. Smith, he testified, chuckled, reaching for Etutes crotch with one hand and down the side of the bed with the other. Making the case for granting bond, Etutes attorney had the 18-year-old and his mother take the stand. Compounding matters for the defense is that Virginia became the 12th state to implement a ban on the Gay Panic defense in April. A Montgomery County judge certified on Sept. 23 a charge of second-degree murder of Blacksburg resident Jerry Paul Smith against Isimemen David Etute, suspended Virginia Tech football player. The victim, he testified, partially undressed and assumed a position on all fours on the bed, exposing the buttocks. Its also a reminder to my legislative colleagues who tried to grill me about whether we really needed to ban the LGBTQ panic defense that, yes, we did.. According to the autopsy, all the bones in Blacksburg resident Jerry Paul Smith's face were broken, his teeth were missing and he had multiple cranial fractures. Prince Harry boasts about finding 'freedom and happiness' and jokes about reincarnation in unseen TV Behind-the-scenes at fashion week with the Spencers! Jeremy Clarkson is axed as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Im just thankful for this jury. Surveillance footage from Smith's apartment captured Etute visiting him onMay 31 - the night Smith was brutally beaten to death, The murder occurred at Smith's apartment on Main Street in Blacksburg. transgender and non-conforming people killed in 2021. Etute traffic charges resolved in Radford The charges are a footnote to mistaken-gender killing, of which Isimemen David . Czernicki also testified to finding impressions of a shoe on Smiths face that would have required at least two blows. Will Democrats and Big Tech ever apologize? Jerry Smith, 40, died after posing as 'Angie Renee' to meet straight college-aged men . Reverberations continued to spread Thursday from the Memorial Day killing of a gay Blacksburg man whose alleged attacker, a Hokie linebacker, told police that hed lashed out after discovering the person he met for a sexual encounter was not a woman. I hope this terrible incident will make more real the jeopardy and the work we still have to do to prevent the kind of knee-jerk, irrational behavior that weve grown up with as males in our society.. It appears that Smith lived as a man during his day to day life, including at work, as his family refer to him with male pronouns, however he had multiple social media accounts where he posed as his alter ego, a woman named Angie.Etute did not discover Smith was a man until they met again on May 31 for a second sexual encounter at Smiths apartment. The Human Rights Campaign has tracked at least 28 deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming people so far in 2021. 1 ranking in country, Radford coach Darris Nichols apologizes for DUI. Jerry was a restaurant manager and known as a polite young man throughout his life. 'Nobody deserves to die, but I don't mind saying, don't pretend you are something that you are not,' Etute's attorney, James Turk, told reporters outside of court on Wednesday. Brunson accompanied Etute to Smiths apartment along with Jalen Hampton on May 31. CASEY: Some head-turning words by Rep. Morgan Griffith on the nature of 'evidence', Montgomery County catalytic converter thefts followed by chase, arrest of two men, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Radford coach Darris Nichols pleads guilty to DUI, gets $2,500 fine and restricted license, Local college basketball roundup: Virginia Tech lands recruit Swinton, Kitley makes buzzer-beater for Virginia Tech on record-breaking night, Former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland dies after battling Alzheimer's, If county won't remove Confederate statue, Glenna Moore wants another statue to honor US Colored Troops, Roanoke judge grants bond to man charged in 4-year-old's death, John Edwards decides not to seek another term as Roanoke senator, Coverage of the case against former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen David Etute in the death of Jerry Paul Smith, Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute seeks to resume pursuit of degree, football, Former Virginia Tech LB Isi Etute lands at Iowa Western Community College after acquittal, Etute traffic charges resolved in Radford, Millions at Risk of Slipping Into Poverty as COVID-Era SNAP Benefits Set to End, More than 300 words have been added to the English dictionary, Citizens travel to Peru's capitol Lima to protest against Boluarte, Russia accuses U.S. of intent to use chemical weapons in Ukraine. A 19-year-old former Virginia Tech football player has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges in the death of 40-year-old Jerry Paul Smith. From left: Ismemen David Etute and Jerry Paul Smith, Former College Football Player Accused of Killing Man He Met on Tinder, 73 Photos of Naturally Naked Men by Terry Hastings, 23 Masturbation Tips for People With Vaginas, 22 Terrifying Sexual Fantasies That Must Be Talked About, 30 Kinky Terms Every Gay Man Needs To Know, 10 Sex Toys for All Genders and How to Use Them, Alternative Orgasms: 20 New Ways to Hit the Spot, Black Trans Woman Shot to Death, Found in Burning Building in Milwaukee, Chicago's Lesbian Mayor Lori Lightfoot Resoundingly Loses Reelection, Marsha P. Johnson Institute Celebrates Black Trans Lives, Mississippi Gov. The 18-year-old linebacker heard bubbling and gurgling coming from Smith as he left the apartment, but didnt call the police, the Commonwealth Attorney added. Samantha Rosenthal, associate professor of history at Roanoke College and co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, wrote in an email Thursday: Regardless of the victims gender identity, the comments by Etutes attorney demonstrate that the defense intends to use transness as an issue in this case. Jan. 25, 2013), the Government states that this matter remains pre-indictment and is part of ongoing investigation of a possible civil rights violation arising . No one has identified Smith as transgender; his family has said he was a gay man. Who was more likely to be the aggressor? Reactions to the killing of Jerry Paul Smith, a 40-year-old restaurant project manager, grew louder after a Wednesday bond hearing for Isimemen David Etute, 18, of Blacksburg. It doesn't matter if you're mad. Unlike a lot of crimes, these involve deeply felt community harm in which an entire segment of the population is victimized, Levin said. Etute, 18, a former star at Cox High School, was preparing for his first season at Virginia Tech when he was arrested and charged in the death of Jerry Paul Smith. CASEY: Some head-turning words by Rep. Morgan Griffith on the nature of 'evidence', Montgomery County catalytic converter thefts followed by chase, arrest of two men, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Radford coach Darris Nichols pleads guilty to DUI, gets $2,500 fine and restricted license, Local college basketball roundup: Virginia Tech lands recruit Swinton, Kitley makes buzzer-beater for Virginia Tech on record-breaking night, Former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland dies after battling Alzheimer's, If county won't remove Confederate statue, Glenna Moore wants another statue to honor US Colored Troops, Roanoke judge grants bond to man charged in 4-year-old's death, John Edwards decides not to seek another term as Roanoke senator, Coverage of the case against former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen David Etute in the death of Jerry Paul Smith, Murder charge against suspended Hokie player Etute is elevated to grand jury, Etute indicted on charge of murder in Blacksburg mistaken gender identity case, Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute seeks to resume pursuit of degree, football, Etute traffic charges resolved in Radford, Bond hearing set for Virginia Tech football player charged with second-degree murder, 'It's tough": Virginia Tech officials address murder charge against football player, Family of Blacksburg homicide victim trying to come to terms with his death, Link between Virginia Tech football player suspect and restaurant worker homicide victim murky in Blacksburg case, Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute charged with second-degree murder, Millions at Risk of Slipping Into Poverty as COVID-Era SNAP Benefits Set to End, More than 300 words have been added to the English dictionary, Citizens travel to Peru's capitol Lima to protest against Boluarte, Russia accuses U.S. of intent to use chemical weapons in Ukraine. 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