TAMPA, Fla. — Wednesday marked day two of testimony in the Gerald Declan Radford murder trial.
Jurors heard testimony from the lead detective, saw body camera footage from the first deputies who arrived on the scene, and learned about the victim’s fatal injuries from the medical examiner.
Body camera footage showed Radford had his hands up when deputies arrived.
Moments earlier, he called 911 to report the shooting at West Park and told an operator he laid his gun on a picnic table.
The body of Walt Lay was on the ground about 15 yards behind him.
Footage showed deputies put handcuffs on Radford and immediately attempted CPR on Lay, but Lay was already dead.
A still shot from the footage shows blood coming from Radford’s face.
He’s wearing a sweatshirt that reads “Irish Pub Mixed Martial Arts”.
According to court documents, Radford, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, was born in Ireland and is still an Irish citizen.
He claimed he shot fellow park-goer Lay after Lay jumped him and struck him with a metal coffee mug.
Detective Robert Harrop testified that witnesses told him Radford harassed Lay for months because he was gay.
Radford’s attorney questioned Harrop about a text message Lay sent to his friend Sue Jones the day before he died.
Under questioning from defense attorney Matthew Futch, Harrop admitted he never spoke to Jones about the text message.
Jones talked to us about the message last February.
“He called me on the phone, and then he texted me and said Sue, I'm really scared. He said Dec is just out of control,” Jones said.
Jones read us some of Lay’s texts.
“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,” the text said.
Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kelly Devers then testified about the fatal gunshot’s path.
“The projectile is coming from the right side, and it’s going all the way over here to the left side,” Devers demonstrated to the jury.
Devers said Lay also had injuries to his knees, which were covered in dirt.
“They're red, and there are abrasions and scrapes. And they occurred prior to death,” she testified.
Devers said the injuries would be consistent with Radford standing over Lay as he was on his knees, but under questioning, admitted that she had no way to know the orientation of Radford’s and Lay’s bodies without eyewitness testimony or video evidence.
Prosecutors called multiple witnesses Wednesday afternoon, who testified that they heard Radford use anti-gay slurs to refer to Lay in the months before the shooting.
One witness testified she heard Radford threaten to kill Lay several days before the shooting.
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