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Man accused of throwing baby on I-275 can be retried, judge rules

 
Published Oct. 10, 2013

TAMPA — Prosecutors can retry the Tampa man accused of throwing a baby from a car on Interstate 275 in 2009, a Hillsborough Circuit judge has ruled. Defense attorneys for Richard McTear, 26, had argued he could not be prosecuted again after his first trial ended in a mistrial in August. The inappropriate testimony of a prosecution witness led to the mistrial declaration. Judge William Fuente rejected that argument, ruling that Assistant State Attorney Ron Gale had not intended to elicit the tainted witness statements. McTear is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 3-month-old Emanuel Murray Jr., and could receive the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin in July 2014.