Former Footballer Acquitted Of Beating Gay Man To Death, Claimed Victim Posed As A Woman On Tinder

starobserver.com.au:

Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was acquitted on Friday on charges of beating an openly gay man Jerry Paul Smith to death, who he claimed had posed as a woman on Tinder.A jury found Etute not guilty of the charges of second-degree murder, reported The Roanoke Times.Trigger Warning: This story discusses a murder, which might be distressing to some readers.

For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Etute, then 18, had received oral sex from Smith (40), when he visited his apartment on April 10, 2021, after matching on Tinder.

Smith had given Etute $50 after the encounter. Etute claimed that Smith was pretending to be a 21-year-old woman and had concealed the fact that he was a man.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Mike Fleenor had allowed the defence’s motion to exclude the instruction to the jury on the ‘gay panic defence’.Gay/ Trans Panic is legal strategy where a jury is asked to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for an accused’s violent reaction.