A gay man who was shot in a dog park recorded a chilling video the day before he died, with his text messages now a crucial part of the suspect’s murder trail.
Gerald Declan Radford, who was 65 at the time of the shooting, was charged with second-degree murder after John Walter Lay, 54, was shot and killed in February earlier this year.
Friends of both men said that Radford, who claims he acted in self-defense, had allegedly been harassing Lay for months including calling him homophobic slurs and threatening him.
The men had allegedly become friends after meeting in the dog park, but the friendship soured after they got into a confrontation over Lay being gay, according to WTVT.
Now, a video that Lay took on February 1, the day before he was gunned down, shows him documenting his reaction to an encounter with Radford.
Lay said to the camera that he was recording for a ‘video diary’ he was advised by police to create.
‘I’m trying not to call the police,’ he added before recalling his morning events, where the pair encountered each other alone in the park.
‘He comes up to me and screams at me, “You’re going to die, you’re going to die,” and I asked him to just leave alone,’ Lay said in the video, which was sent to friend, Kim Wolfley.
John Walter Lay, 54, was shot and killed on February 2 earlier this year during an alleged hate crime
Gerald Declan Radford, who was 65 at the time of the shooting, was charged with second-degree murder and now hopes bombshell new text messages will change everything in his case
Wolfley told People: ‘This to me sounds like it was premeditated. It just floored me when I saw the video.’
That same day, Lay sent a series of text messages which defense attorney Matthew J Futch argues is proof it was actually Lay who planned an attack on Radford.
‘He really doesn’t intimidate me,’ Lay wrote to Sue Jones, a friend who had frequently spoken to Lay about the situation between the two men.
‘I thought, if he blocks my path again, I’ll try to tackle him. He’s really older than he looks. He’s weak and feeble. I’ll keep you informed. This weekend should be drama.’
About 13 minutes later, Lay sent another to Jones which read: ‘He’s eat up with bursitis! I think he wants me to beat him. In some weird crazy sex… I don’t know. Lol.’
Futch noted that the messages were sent after the video where Lay recalled their encounter earlier that day was recorded.
He then argued that the text messages show that hours after Lay claimed Radford had threatened his life, he was ‘meticulously planning his attack and relishing in the drama it will cause without any mention to Sue Jones of the alleged threats made to him that very morning.’
The text messages, according to Futch, lead to the conclusion that Lay ‘was looking to attack Mr Radford.’
A video that Lay took on February 1, the day before he was gunned down, shows him documenting his reaction to an encounter with Radford
Hours after the shooting, Radford had sent text messages to a mutual friend of both men and wrote: ‘I’m so sorry to tell you, Walt attacked me and I had to defend myself. I never thought he would go for me. I really sorry. I really had no choice he was too crazy.’
The message was accompanied by a photo of Radford with what appeared to be bruising under one eye, cuts on his nose and an abrasion above one of his eyebrows.
Futch told the Tampa Bay Times the texts from Lay ‘seismically changes the tenor of this case’ and it should merit the case being thrown out.
He described the situation as a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and added: ‘An innocent man has been sitting in jail since early March, the State now has direct evidence that 18 hours prior to the shooting, the alleged victim was outlining his plan to tackle a ‘weak and feeble’ man who the alleged victim in his own words was not really intimidated by.’
Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office, said in an email that the motion had been reviewed and ‘[we] maintain our position that the shooting was not an act of self-defense.’
Maloney added: ‘It also does not change our position that the defendant should be held in custody prior to trial.’
Radford had sent text messages to a mutual friend of both men after the fatal shooting, writing: ‘I’m so sorry to tell you, Walt attacked me and I had to defend myself. I never thought he would go for me. I really sorry. I really had no choice he was too crazy’
The complications of the case are entangled with Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ self-defense law, which states that a person who is not doing anything illegal and is attacked in a place where they have a right to be can use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary.
Hillsborough State Attorney, Suzy Lopez, said in a statement in March that Radford acted ‘from hatred within his heart’, reported People.
Lopez added: ‘We should all be able to enjoy a day at the dog park without the fear of gunfire. This victim also deserved to live free from fear and discrimination based on his sexual orientation. The evidence shows the defendant’s actions were motivated by hate, and we will be held accountable. My heart is with the victim’s family and large group of friends as we fight for justice together.’
Radford’s first bail hearing was in March, where prosecutors argued that the bullet trajectory revealed from Lay’s autopsy was ‘inconsistent with Radford’s account of the shooting’, reported Tampa Bay Times.
Radford also claimed that Lay attacked him with a metal bottle in the 911 call. Two metal travel cups were found at the scene, one Radford claimed to be his own and was unsure who owned the second.
The men had allegedly become friends after meeting in the West Dog Park in Tampa, but the friendship soured after they got into a confrontation over Lay being gay
Lay’s body was found to have multiple scrapes on his knees, according to the autopsy, and Radford was found at the scene with cuts and bruises on his face.
A friend of Lay, Samantha Hitchcock, claimed to have heard Radford use homophobic slurs at both her and Lay on numerous occasions but that Lay never initiated fights with Radford.
She told People: ‘Walt never instigated anything at all. He always walked away. He would say, “leave me alone” – he was just that type of person.’
A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office homicide detective testified that a witness had overheard Radford say, ‘I just want to kill him,’ after walking away from an argument with Lay days before the shooting.
Radford faces a life sentence in prison if he is found guilty as charged. If a jury finds him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter with a weapon, this usually carries up to 30 years, but he could also face a life sentence with the addition of a hate crime charge.