CHRISTIANSBURG Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty Friday in the beating death of Jerry Paul Smith foll. The warrants sought records from Etutes cellphone, a Tinder account associated with that number, and the cellphone records of three other then-Tech football team members. Make A Statement. Etute was 18 years old at the time. This is me Follow. Upon confronting Smith, Etute testified that Smith grabbed at Etute's genitals, causing Etute to strike Smith in the face with the back of his hand. What followed was a host of sad events. Please enter valid email address to continue. playerId: 'be5717b5-2a7b-4fde-8c19-21cbbff0cd95' Etute said he became suspicious on May 31 when friends of his, including. Etute has been charged with second-degree murder. Murder charge against suspended Hokie player Etute is elevated. Isimemen Etute, 18, was released on $75,000 secured bond per Judge Randal Duncan's ruling and placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring, Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt said in. The Etute family left the Montgomery County Courthouse through a back exit without speaking to reporters. page_type: 'article', You can cancel at any time. Etute testified that if he determined Smith was a woman, another sexual encounter might have occurred, but that if he determined Smith was a man, he planned to flee the apartment. A social media user expressed gratitude to the judge for giving Etute a second chance. Another wrote, Truth is. Hes obviously relieved as well.. Etutes parents and sister attended the hearing in a packed courtroom that also included members of the Hokies football team, according to reports. The argument wasnt made by the attorneys on either side. One of the next steps they mentioned will be figuring out the best avenue for him to pursue a collegiate degree and resume his football career. The two sides later Wednesday came to an agreement to release Etute on a $75,000 secured bond under house arrest and electronic monitoring, according to a release put out by Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt. Isi is extremely grateful for the jurys hard work, deliberation, and verdict., Isi is now focused on picking up where he left off in his pursuit of a college degree and love for the game of football. Etute also told police that Smith did not assault him. Entrepreneurs Summit Isimemen David Etute is accused of killing Jerry Paul Smith. Recently unsealed court documents indicate Isimemen Etute and three other Virginia Tech football players were under investigation for a possible hate crime in relation to Etute's murder charge. Sept. 23, 2021 Etute appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. Etute, 18, will now be under house arrest and electronic monitoring at his parent's house in Virginia Beach, according to prosecutors. Stevers was charged with second-degree murder in the death of her estranged husband back in 2017. page_type: 'article', Police ruled Smiths death a homicide, but did not say how he was killed. Cobb said he was heartbroken that Fridays verdict left him with a similar empty feeling. Under the agreement, Etute was allowed to be at his parent's house under house arrest and electronic monitoring. Etute testified that he stomped on Smith's face as he departed the apartment, leaving a bloody shoe print on Smith's cheek in the process. We ended up presenting a defense which included, to a great extent, completely self-defense. The young man met Smith under the name Angie while on the Tinder dating app. Please answer some questions in this short survey about professional soccer and the 2022 Men's FIFA World Cup. Theres a long history in the masculine world we live in to say I dont want to be perceived as gay, or feminine or weak or less than, Cobb said. CHRISTIANSBURG Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen David Etute and his parents, Nichelle and David, issued a statement to The Roanoke Times on Saturday through his defense. A statement from Virginia Tech said Etute was a member of the football team but, has been suspended from the team, effective immediately.. Isimemen Etute had the most horrific year of his life after connecting with whom he believed to be a woman on the dating app Tinder in April of 2021. And that clearly had a play in the decision of the jury. }); !function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document); CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty of all charges Friday in the beating death of a Blacksburg resident following an online catfishing scheme. First published on May 28, 2022 / 10:23 AM. The questions Turk had for Isi Etute were of a similar nature. Smith eventually died from blunt force injuries to the head. Etute failed to notify authorities that he'd left Smith injured, bubbling and gurgling, in the apartment. Isimemen Etute, 21, entered a plea of not guilty at Thursday's arraignment for the 2021 murder of Jerry Smith, 40, according to NBC Roanoke affiliate WSLS. Management baseDivId: 'pb-slot-right-1', Sales Partnership Solutions He referred questions to his boss, Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt. Contact subcat: '', Etute returned on May 31 and realized that Smith and Angie were the same person. While that scenario might prove unlikely, Turk is hopeful there are colleges out there that will give Etute a chance. Etute did testify one of his reasons for returning to Smiths apartment was that his close friends had been making jokes that the Angie Renee he had a sexual encounter with on April 10, could have been a dude.. 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. Etute testified that he left the April 10 encounter still believing Smith was a woman, but teammates later began teasing him that his sexual partner could have been a man. tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { Roanoke City Council member Joe Cobb, who identifies as a member of the regions LGBTQ community, hopes one of the steps Etute takes is advocating on behalf of gender and sexual minorities. Listen ! Virginia Tech football player charged with second-degree murder of local man Upon the prodding of friends who suspected Angie was a man, Etute returned to the apartment on May 31, 2021. He talked about the strong relationship he had with his siblings, and said his parents were, the strongest people Ive ever known even through this situation.. url: 'isimemen,etute,a,virginia,tech,recruit,beat,tinder,date,to,death,after,learning,he,was,a,man', According to CBS News, Smiths family promptly exited the room. A former Virginia Tech football player accused of killing a man he'd had a sexual encounter with, believing he was a woman, has been acquitted of murder. Etute, a Virginia Tech freshman linebacker at the time of the incident in May 2021, had been charged with second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of five to 40 years, and the jury could have convicted him on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Isimemen Etute, a Virginia Tech student now suspended from the university and its football team, is. Im not saying what happened was acceptable, but this was more than someone just showing up to an apartment and punching someone, Turk told the court. Tyreses Daughter Shayla Gibson Is Now 14-Years-Old, Singer Is Sending Her Off To High School With A Brand New Rolls Royce, Power Was A Highly Successful Series That Led To Multiple Spin-Offs, However Omari Hardwick Claims He Didnt Make Much Money. Im certainly appreciative that the verdict turned out the way that it did, defense attorney Jimmy Turk told Oxygen.com. May 27, 2022, 4:39 PM CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty of all charges Friday in the beating death of a Blacksburg resident following an online catfishing scheme. The defendant pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, claiming he acted in self-defense. Ismemen David Etute of Virginia Beach was arrested and charged with second-degree murder June 2 in the death of Smith, a Blacksburg restaurant worker. I hope its not just about his ability to return to football, which I know is an important thing, but I hope it will include him learning and advocating to the LGBTQ community and deterring these sorts of incidents from ever happening again, Cobb said. Etute testified that he then believed Smith reached for a weapon under his bed, causing Etute to strike Smith with a fist several more times. Isimemen Etute, 19, stands accused of the 2021 murder of Jerry Paul Smith, 40, who Etute met under the name "Angie." (Smith's family has identified the victim as a gay man, according to ABC. url: 'isimemen,etute,a,virginia,tech,recruit,beat,tinder,date,to,death,after,learning,he,was,a,man', She was eventually acquitted in 2018 on charges of voluntary manslaughter. targeting: { divId: 'div-gpt-ad-rightrail-1', Turk said his client went home with his family and friends following the verdict, where theyre decompressing from the trial., Hes certainly been through a lot, having been on trial for an allegation of second-degree murder, said Turk. according to 247sports. } Stand Out. tude.cmd.push(function() { In the case of a felony arrest, the university has the authority to place a student on immediate interim suspension, Virginia Tech said in the statement. Hes focusing now, I think, on trying to get his life back together, Turk continued. According to the autopsy, all the bones in Blacksburg resident Jerry Paul Smiths face were broken, his teeth were missing and he had multiple cranial fractures. url: 'isimemen,etute,a,virginia,tech,recruit,beat,tinder,date,to,death,after,learning,he,was,a,man', Etute admitted that Smith did not fight back and he heard a bubbly and gurgling noise while leaving the home. Turk frequently teared up during his 45-minute closing statement and when talking to reporters about Etutes high character. Ive tried more than 100 murder cases in my lifetime, and normally I dont even ask for bail, Turk told the judge with his voice quivering. Etute was in court Wednesday morning wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. Ill be fully supportive of him. Virginia Tech football player Isi Etute told police he punched victim after meeting for sexual encounter. Dont target or lure anyone under that perception. The Roanoke Times have made multiple attempts to contact both parties. div_id: 'div-gpt-ad-rightrail-2', Morgans arguments came after testimony from Etute and his mother Michelle. CHRISTIANSBURG A now suspended Virginia Tech football player told police he punched a sexual partner five times in the face and stomped on him after discovering the person he thought was a woman was actually a man, according to arguments presented Wednesday in a Montgomery County courtroom. Dont target or lure anyone under that perception. A Virginia Tech football player has been arrested and charged with the murder of a Blacksburg resident, according to the Blacksburg Police Department and the university. Turk, Etute's lawyer, made arguments that Etute could not be convicted of second-degree murder because there was no malice in his actions and that he should be found not guilty by reason of self-defense, based on his fear that Smith had hidden a weapon. 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