JACKSONVILLE - Four years after he was acquitted in the slaying of a Georgia tourist, a Florida man took the witness stand Tuesday in the retrial of man once convicted in the slaying. The witness, Brenton Butler, calmly described being beaten by a police officer and threatened into signing a confession.
Jurors in Jacksonville are hearing testimony in the retrial of 26-year-old Juan Curtis, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for the May 7th, 2000, slaying of Mary Ann Stephens. The Toccoa resident was staying in a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville with her husband when she was fatally shot by a man who took her purse.
An appeals court gave Curtis a new trial after ruling the judge should have allowed Curtis' attorneys to introduce testimony about Butler's confession.
Butler was acquitted of the killing in November 2000 and his case was the subject of an H-B-O documentary, ``Murder on a Sunday Morning,'' which won an Academy Award in 2002. His public defenders tipped police off to Curtis and Jermel Williams, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and has testified against Curtis.
Closing statements are scheduled Wednesday and the case should go to the jury tomorrow afternoon. If convicted, Curtis faces a maximum of life in prison.
Saturday
May 10th, 2025
11:43PM
