Shooting Of NFL's Sean Taylor: Man Guilty

A man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the 2007 killing of NFL star Sean Taylor.

Eric Rivera Jr, from Florida, admitted in a videotaped confession to police that he fired the fatal shot during a botched burglary attempt at the Washington Redskins player’s home.

At his trial, however, Rivera said the confession was given under police pressure and amid purported threats to his family.

A jury deliberated about 16 hours over four days before returning the guilty verdict.

Rivera, who was 17 at the time of the killing, could spend life behind bars.

He was also convicted of armed burglary.

Prosecutors and members Taylor’s family declined to comment after the hearing.

In his confession, Rivera said a group of five young men had driven to Taylor’s house planning to steal large amounts of cash.

They thought Taylor, 24, would be out of town at a game against Tampa Bay, but did not realise that he was home with a knee injury.

Taylor’s then-girlfriend, Jackie Garcia Haley, and their 18-month-old daughter, were also home at the time. They were not harmed.

Witnesses say Taylor was shot when he confronted the group with a machete outside his bedroom.

He was shot in the upper thigh, damaging his femoral artery and causing massive blood loss.

A medical examiner said Taylor was essentially dead on arrival at hospital on November 26, 2007, although doctors did manage to restart his heart for a while.

Rivera insisted he was not told about the burglary plot until the group was already driving to the NFL player’s home, and that he stayed in the car outside the house the whole time.

Four other men were also charged in the case and three will be tried later.

Venjah Hunte, 25, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and burglary charges in a deal that calls for a 29-year prison sentence.

Testifying in his own defence, Rivera claimed it was Hunte who shot Taylor with a 9mm handgun.

The murder weapon was never found. Police say it was stuffed in a sock and thrown into the wetlands of the Florida Everglades.

Taylor, a first-round draft pick in 2004, signed an $18m contract with the team and was becoming one of the NFL’s top defensive players when he was slain.

Several witnesses, including Garcia Haley, testified that he liked to keep large amounts of cash around his Miami house.

One of the men charged in the slaying, 25-year-old Jason Mitchell, attended a birthday party a few weeks earlier at the house for Taylor’s half-sister, Sasha Johnson.

She testified that Taylor gave her a purse containing $10,000 in cash at the party, which was witnessed by all the guests.

That event put the wheels in motion for the burglary plot, witnesses said.

Rivera himself testified that some in the group thought they would get between $100,000 and $200,000 to split up.

Shooting Of NFL’s Sean Taylor: Man Guilty
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Shooting Of NFL's Sean Taylor: Man Guilty