JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A high profile murder case will soon be in the hands of the jury.
Former pastor and youth counselor Ronnie Hyde stands accused of killing and dismembering 16-year-old Fred Laster in 1994.
The defense rested its case Friday morning after defendant Ronnie Hyde took the stand in his own defense. Hyde, who was chatty and easygoing under questioning from his own attorney Thursday, was more combative under cross examination, prompting the judge to remind him to keep his answers focused.
Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi grilled Hyde about what he called “lies,” including tax returns filed in which Hyde falsely claimed to be the teenager’s foster dad. “You understood [signing the returns] was under the penalty of perjury?” Mizrahi asked. Hyde said he did so at the suggestion of a tax preparer and that the money went to the benefit of the Laster children.
“My question has nothing to do with who received the benefit,” Mizrahi said. “My question is whether you play loose and fast with telling the truth.”
Mizrahi asked about the presence of many animal bones found in the backyard of his Jacksonville Beach home: “Did you bury animals in your backyard?” “No,” Hyde answered.
He also asked Hyde about the anatomy textbook found in his house. Hyde said it was “a basic textbook .. .anatomy and physiology basic stuff like metabolism…”
“Are the knee bones connected to the thigh bone -- is that stuff in there?” Mizrahi retorted. “How the hand is connected to the wrist?”
Referring to an item in Hyde’s journal in which he said he needed “forgiveness” from Fred, Mizrahi asked.
“Do you feel responsible for the death of Fred Laster?”
“No,” said Hyde. “I wasn’t responsible for the death of Fred Laster. I never hurt that kid.
In his closing argument, Mizrahi reminded jurors about evidence from the crime scene that matched items in Hyde’s house or carried his DNA – including knives, a shirt, and flower shaped bathtub stickers.
He also asked why Hyde didn’t do more when the teen in his care vanished.
“There are seven billion people on the planet but there is only one Ronnie Hyde, and he is in that Dumpster," he told jurors. "The only explanation for this is he killed him… he’s a killer.”
Closing for the defense, BeJae Shelton called the state’s case “circumstantial” and “much ado about nothing.”
“We are not saying there is no similarity between the items found in the Dumpster and the ones in his home. There clearly is. … But it is not consistent with guilt. … there is an innocent explanation.”
Shelton said that believing Hyde would kill the teen he had long helped and then dismember him was unthinkable.
“Who does that?" she asked. "It’s unthinkable that someone could do this."
“The dismemberment of Fred Laster was unusual. It’s not something that a mental health counselor does. It’s not something that a pastor does. It’s not something a family friend does. It’s not something somebody just decides to do for no reason.”
She said that Hyde “may be a lot of things. He may be a hoarder. He may be a little odd. He is not the type of person that kills and dismembers a family friend for no reason, especially with kitchen knives.”
The jury is expected to begin deliberations over lunch.