JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ronnie Hyde, charged in the 1994 death and dismemberment of 16-year-old Fred Laster, will not face 25 additional child porn charges when he goes on trial in just over a week.
Prosecutors said they will pursue the child sexual exploitation charges later and focus solely on the murder charge.
This decision comes after Hyde’s attorney, Ann Finnell, successfully argued the child porn allegations have no connection to the murder.
Laster was last seen by his siblings in Nassau County in 1994. They say he was last with Hyde, who was Laster’s foster father, according to court records, in addition to being a counselor to teenage sex offenders.
Hyde, now 65, told police Laster jumped out of his moving vehicle and ran off, and that he never saw Laster again.
The teen’s torso was discovered in a dumpster in Lake City but wasn’t identified until 2015. Police discovered the remains along with two knives and flower-shaped bath appliques similar to items found in Hyde’s Jacksonville Beach home. Whether those items would be allowed as evidence at trial was one of several motions before Circuit Judge Tatiana Salvador on Friday.
Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi conceded to some of Finnell's motions, saying he will not ask the victim’s sister to testify that she thought Hyde and Laster were in a sexual relationship. However, the state will be allowed to introduce a page from Hyde’s journal in which he says he wishes he could ask Laster for forgiveness.
Salvador also agreed to allow the bath appliques and the knives into evidence.
Prosecutors initially charged Hyde with premeditated murder, but are now pursuing conviction on felony murder, which is a murder that occurs in the commission of another felony.
Prosecutors allege that underlying felony is aggravated child abuse.
A final hearing in the case is set for Friday Marcy 25.
Jury selection begins March 28 and is expected to take a day. The trial is expected to last for the remainder of that week.