Florida

Conviction Upheld in FIU Football Player Killing

An appeals court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction of a former Florida International University student who fatally stabbed a school football player.

A three-judge panel unanimously agreed Wednesday that 27-year-old Quentin Wyche's actions and words satisfied the elements of the charge and that jurors had appropriate instructions regarding Florida's self-defense law. Wyche is serving 20 { years after being convicted in Miami-Dade circuit court in 2013.

Wyche admitted to stabbing tailback Kendall Berry in the heart outside the campus recreation center in March 2010. But the defense argued Berry and several teammates had attacked Wyche, who was acting in self-defense.

One witness for the prosecution, however, said that Wyche actually ran away from the fight, retrieved a pair of scissors from his backpack and then returned to attack Berry.

The fight followed a confrontation earlier in the day between Wyche and Berry's girlfriend.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us