Murder in Palm Beach County: Five trials to watch for in 2024
WEST PALM BEACH — Beginning this week, a man accused of murder will get his second chance to convince jurors he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed someone in a vacant lot in Lantana. His is one of several murder trials slated to begin in 2024.
Two are scheduled for May — one stemming from the death of a young mother at a Palm Springs club nearly six years ago, and one for a woman who prosecutors say instigated a shooting that killed a West Palm Beach teenager.
Other high-profile cases are scheduled for trial in the summer and fall. One is the rare "stand your ground" case involving a woman who says she was a victim of domestic violence. The other concerns the death of a 14-year-old Palm Beach Gardens boy in 2021.
Here's what to know before the trials begin.
Gunman gets second chance at trial, says he took victim's life to save his own
The allegations: Albert Clark, 32, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the 2020 death of 33-year-old Angel Vargas. Prosecutors believe Clark killed Vargas and wounded his friend, Carlos Hernandez, after a car sale in Lantana went sour.In addition to the murder charge, Clark faces one count of attempted murder and two more of shooting into an occupied vehicle and committing robbery with a firearm.
Point of interest: This case has several. Clark's attorneys asked the judge to drop the charges twice — first because Clark said he killed Vargas to save his own life, and again after learning that prosecutors and police lost the 911 call Clark placed to turn himself in. The judge denied both requests.Clark fought the murder charge at a trial this year, but before jurors could convict or acquit him, one came down with COVID-19 and was ordered by a doctor not to return to court. The judge declared the proceedings a mistrial, paving the way for this month's do-over.
Key players: Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr., Public Defender Carey Haughwout and Assistant State Attorney Marci Rex.
Trial date: Opening statements begin Monday.
Man accused of killing mother of two outside nightclub
The allegations: Marcus Hull, 35, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the 2018 death of 24-year-old Kassandra Yamileth Morales. Prosecutors believe Hull killed Morales and wounded three others during a shooting outside the La Isla Del Encanto nightclub on Military Trail south of Forest Hill Boulevard.Family members told The Palm Beach Post that Morales was with her fiancé the night she was shot. She was born in Miami but graduated from Lake Worth High School.
Points of interest: Hull could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. He turned down several opportunities to plead guilty in exchange for a shorter sentence, opting instead to fight the charges at trial.
Key players: Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen, Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Gagerie and Assistant State Attorney Francine Edwards.
Trial date: Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 3.
Woman who said 'shoot it up' faces harsher penalty than the man who pulled the trigger
The allegations: Keosha Carn, 32, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the 2021 death of 16-year-old Tamia Johnson. Carn was unarmed during the shooting, but prosecutors believe she's as much to blame as the man who pulled the trigger.That's because witnesses said Carn told her boyfriend, Larry Darnell Young Jr., to "shoot it up" after she and a group of women got into an argument near 17th Street and Spruce Avenue in West Palm Beach. A stray bullet from Young's gun struck and killed Johnson in the back seat of her parents' car blocks away.
Point of interest: Last year, jurors convicted Young of manslaughter — not premeditated murder. Their decision spared him a life sentence and a potential spot on Florida's death row, but it holds no bearing on the charges against Carn. If a different jury deems Johnson's death a murder, Carn could spend the rest of her life in prison for a crime the actual gunman was sentenced to 40 years for.
Key players: Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr., defense attorney Mattie Fore and Assistant State Attorney Marci Rex.
Trial date: Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 10.
Woman says she killed her abusive husband to save her life
The allegations: Marcia Thompson, 43, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the 2019 death of Terry Thompson. Investigators said Marcia Thompson shot her husband three times in the front and six times in the back during an argument at their home. Thompson called 911 and told dispatchers he was still alive, but she was too afraid to provide aid.
Point of interest: Thompson and her co-worker testified in court that Terry had abused his wife for years. Thompson's attorney asked the judge to drop the murder charge on account of Florida's "stand your ground" statute, which permits deadly force to protect oneself from imminent and deadly harm, but the judge rejected their request.Detectives noted that Thompson's husband was lying on the couch unarmed when Thompson killed him. In order for jurors to acquit her, she needs to convince them she feared for her life when she pulled the trigger.
Key players: Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe, defense attorney Jessica Mishali and Assistant State Attorney Jo Wilensky.
Trial date: Jury selection is scheduled to begin July 11.
Man faces death penalty for fatal stabbing of Ryan Rogers, Palm Beach Gardens teen
The allegations: Semmie Lee Williams, 41, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the 2021 death of 14-year-old Ryan Rogers. Police believe that while riding his bike, Rogers had a chance encounter with Williams, a drifter plagued by "long-standing and persistent mental illness." Prosecutors believe Williams stabbed Rogers to death near Central Boulevard on the south side of the Interstate 95 overpass in Palm Beach Gardens, where the teen's body was found. They have said they will seek the death penalty if jurors convict him of first-degree murder.
Point of interest: There are several. Two psychologists who evaluated Williams found him competent to stand trial, but their conclusions are at odds with claims by Williams’ defense attorneys. They maintain that Williams is intellectually disabled and should be deemed ineligible for execution. The judge has not yet ruled on their request.The attorneys also filed a motion asking for a rare, two-part trial. The first part would be for jurors to decide whether Williams committed first-degree murder; the second would be to decide whether he was insane when he did so. They say that if Williams argues at a traditional trial that he was “not guilty by reason of insanity," he's essentially admitting his guilt — something he and his attorneys aren't yet willing to do.The judge declined to rule on that motion but may do so later.
Key players: Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe, Assistant Public Defender Scott Pribble and Assistant State Attorney Jo Wilensky.
Trial date: Jury selection is scheduled to begin Oct. 10.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida trials: Death penalty case, stand your ground defense
