{"id":3699,"date":"2022-04-02T10:46:18","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T10:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/former-youth-pastor-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-1994-murder-of-teen-wjxt-news4jax\/"},"modified":"2022-04-02T10:46:18","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T10:46:18","slug":"former-youth-pastor-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-1994-murder-of-teen-wjxt-news4jax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/02\/former-youth-pastor-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-1994-murder-of-teen-wjxt-news4jax\/","title":{"rendered":"Former youth pastor sentenced to life in prison for 1994 murder of teen – WJXT News4JAX"},"content":{"rendered":"

News, weather, features and events to get your weekend started right.
See the complete list
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Ashley Harding<\/a><\/span>, Reporter
Jenese Harris<\/a><\/span>, Reporter\/weekend anchor
Brie Isom<\/a><\/span>, Reporter
Published:\u00a0Ashley Harding<\/a><\/span>, Reporter
Jenese Harris<\/a><\/span>, Reporter\/weekend anchor
Brie Isom<\/a><\/span>, Reporter
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 After less than three hours of deliberations, the jury returned with a guilty verdict Friday against a former youth pastor accused of killing and dismembering a 16-year-old boy in 1994.<\/a>
In an unusual move, Ronnie Hyde told Judge Tatiana Salvador he was ready to be sentenced immediately as Fred Laster\u2019s five siblings watched from the front row. They had left a seat open for their slain brother.
After a tear-filled statement from Laster\u2019s brother, Travis, who recounted all that \u201cFreddy\u2019s\u201d family was deprived of by his murder, Salvador handed down the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
\u201cHe was loved. He was loved dearly. He had a grandmother who on her death bed questioned what happened to Freddy. She died nearly hours later not knowing. We have our brothers and sisters who have wondered what happened to Freddy,\u201d Travis said. \u201cWe lost a future with our brother. We lost a brother that we don\u2019t get to call on the weekends and ask, \u2018Hey, did you see the ball game?\u2019 We lost a brother, like, \u2018Hey, Freddy, did you write a new song? We like the last one you wrote. Did you get anything when you were out of town?\u2019\u201d
The family also provided this statement:
\u201cWe never gave up hope. This has been a long, emotional road and we are grateful there is finally justice for Fred. We miss him dearly and miss the future we will never have with him. We would like to thank everyone who over the past 20+ years served a role to secure today\u2019s outcome. Specifically, we would like to thank the Columbia County Sheriff\u2019s Office; Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office; Jacksonville Beach Police Department; FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the State Attorney\u2019s Office and prosecutors Alan Mizrahi and Terence Martin; Angela Judah, Agent Abbi Beccaccio; and Detective Jimmy Watson. We love you, Fred.\u201d<\/i>
After surprising many in court Thursday when he opted to take the stand in his own defense<\/a>, Hyde faced a contentious cross-examination Friday morning from prosecutor Alan Mizrahi, who grilled Hyde about his account of the last time he saw Laster.
Laster\u2019s dismembered remains were found in June 1994 behind a dumpster<\/a> at a BP gas station in Columbia County with Hyde\u2019s DNA \u201call over that dumpster,\u201d according to Mizrahi.
Prosecutors contended that Hyde and Laster had been together the day before the remains were found. Hyde denied that, saying the last time he saw the teen was on May 30, 1994, when he jumped out of his car because he did not want to go back to his grandmother\u2019s house.
Prosecutor: You knew that he did not want to go home. Yet your testimony is he got into your car voluntarily.<\/i>
Hyde: Yes.<\/i>
Prosecutor: To go home? You told him you were taking him home.<\/i>
Hyde: He knew where he was going.<\/i>
Prosecutor: So he jumps out in the middle of nowhere, correct?<\/i>
Hyde: It was a heavily wooded area.<\/i>
Prosecutor: After dark?<\/i>
Hyde: Yes, sir, after dark in June.<\/i>
Later, Mizrahi asked Hyde why he hadn\u2019t called 911 after the teen jumped out of his vehicle.
Hyde: Because it wasn\u2019t an emergency?<\/i>
Prosecutor: You think a 16-year-old running toward woods by himself isn\u2019t an emergency?<\/i>
Hyde: No, sir, I don\u2019t.<\/i>
Molly Sasso, an attorney who is not affiliated with the case, said the statement from Hyde was telling.
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you? Hey, there\u2019s somebody in trouble. You know, why wouldn\u2019t you reach out?\u201d Sasso said. \u201cI think, you know, that\u2019s not something you can really convict somebody on, but it definitely forms that impression in the jurors mind that, like, that\u2019s not natural behavior.\u201d
During the cross-examination, Salvador had to stop Mizrahi several times and admonished both men for repeatedly talking over each other. She told them to behave better in the courtroom.
Mizrahi also questioned Hyde about a garage sale Hyde said he was having around the time Laster disappeared.
Hyde: Eventually I gave in to him because he refused to return to his grandmother\u2019s house, get a good night\u2019s sleep and work on the garage sale and that would make him feel better.<\/i>
Prosecutor: The garage sale is not on your calendar.<\/i>
Hyde: But that doesn\u2019t mean I didn\u2019t have one.<\/i>
Hyde maintained his innocence throughout, saying: \u201cMr. Mizrahi, I never hurt that boy. I\u2019ve never hurt him. I would never hurt him.\u201d<\/i>
Hyde\u2019s cousin took the stand Thursday, reading from journal entries where Hyde asked forgiveness from Laster.
When asked why he\u2019d want forgiveness from Laster, Hyde said Thursday…
Hyde: Maybe I didn\u2019t try to do enough to figure out why he went to Heron\u2026 and what was so\u2026 what was so urgent about him leaving the area.<\/i>
Defense attorney: Do you know anything more than what you\u2019ve told us about Fred Laster\u2019s death?<\/i>
Hyde: No I don\u2019t.<\/i>
Defense attorney: Would you have ever harmed that child?<\/i>
Hyde: Oh no\u2026 never. I couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/i>
Hyde said after Laster jumped from his car in 1994 that he went home and saw a family member, Travis — Laster\u2019s brother — the following morning, and he said he told Travis what had happened.
It also came out in court Thursday that Hyde had declared Laster as a dependent foster child on his taxes — in the years after Laster disappeared.
Mizrahi grilled Hyde on that point on the stand Friday, saying he lied to the federal government, which Hyde denied.
During closing arguments, one of Hyde\u2019s defense attorneys said there was no definitive evidence to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Hyde is responsible for Laster\u2019s murder. She talked about how Laster was a lost, vulnerable boy — and given his family situation — it was reasonable to believe Hyde\u2019s story that he jumped out of his car and ran away. She said the trial has been \u201cmuch to do about nothing.\u201d
\u201cI want to be clear, the death of Fred Laster has been terrible, but the evidence against Ronnie Hyde is just not there. The evidence is that Ron Hyde did nothing wrong. Nothing,\u201d she said to the jury. \u201cThe state has made a fuss about stickers and knives. They are all things I could get in my grandmother\u2019s house right now, and there is much to do about nothing and that is because Ron Hyde is innocent.\u201d
The jury disagreed, returning a few hours later with a verdict of guilty.
Earlier in the week, prosecutors laid out key evidence through grim testimony<\/a> that they said pointed to the former youth pastor and counselor\u2019s guilt.
Jurors were shown footage of the crime scene and a look at physical evidence, including knives, a black plastic bag, a bloody bed cushion, a red flannel shirt, orange gloves with Laster\u2019s DNA and sticks typically used in the bottom of a bathtub. Prosecutors say DNA from the red shirt was matched to Hyde.
When questioned about some of those items found at the crime scene, including the red flannel shirt with his DNA, Hyde testified his father had similar shirts and he may have given it to Laster at some point.
He also talked about egg crate mattresses — like the blood-soaked one found at the crime scene. Hyde said he gave Laster one to use for camping.
During his closing argument, Mizrahi said, \u201cDNA has no bias. It has no agenda,\u201d and that Hyde is \u201call over that dumpster.\u201d
Also among the state\u2019s gruesome evidence photos were pictures of Laster\u2019s upper body that was found 27 years and 10 months ago behind the dumpster<\/a> at a BP gas station in Lake City. Brian Retz was a detective for Columbia County Sheriff\u2019s Office at the time.
\u201cThe head had been cut off, the hands had been cut off, both legs had been cut off, so it was just the torso of the body,\u201d said Retz.
Mizrahi said it\u2019s hard to hear those details.
\u201cThe shock and disturbing concept that a human being can take a bread knife and saw through someone\u2019s neck, wrist, femurs — it is hard to fathom and it makes us angry. It makes us disgusted, and it makes it hard to know that we\u2019re a part of the human race,\u201d Mizrahi said during his closing argument Friday.
He said the fact that Laster was dismembered pointed to him being killed by someone he knew.
\u201cYou have to protect the victim\u2019s identity because they\u2019re connected to you. A random serial killer isn\u2019t going to care. If Fred Laster\u2019s found behind a dumpster, guess who they\u2019re going to talk to? Him!\u201d Mizrahi said as he pointed at Hyde.
RELATED: <\/b>New evidence photos released in Ronnie Hyde case<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>Judge permits journal entries & other evidence in case of Ronnie Hyde, charged in 1994 murder<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>Jury selection to begin in trial of youth pastor accused of killing, dismembering teen boy<\/b><\/a>
Hyde has also been charged with dozens of counts of child pornography. Those proceedings are being kept separate from the murder case.
Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.
Ashley Harding joined the Channel 4 news team in March 2013 and reports every weekday for The Morning Show.
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News, weather, features and events to get your weekend started right.See the complete listLIVEAshley Harding, ReporterJenese Harris, Reporter\/weekend anchorBrie Isom, ReporterPublished:\u00a0April 1, 2022, 8:09 AMUpdated:\u00a0April 1, 2022, 10:40 PMAshley Harding, ReporterJenese Harris, Reporter\/weekend anchorBrie Isom, ReporterJACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 After less than three hours of deliberations, the jury returned with a guilty verdict Friday against a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}