In walked Felecia Demerson and Jerome Williams, the parents of Felecia Williams. They say the day of the murder, Ritchie picked up Eboni and Felecia. The prosecutor highlighted the power that the girl’s killer must have had, the force he must have inflicted. ‘He sold me a dream.’ Ex-girlfriend links Granville Ritchie to 9-year-old murder victim. Albano, whose agency investigated the 9-year-old’s murder, said he felt a responsibility to see the case through. Hyde Park to Tampa: Leave our brick streets alone. It’s the fear that comes from the heart and mind of a child.". He suggested that it was reasonable for them to conclude that Wiley could have killed the girl instead of Ritchie. Ritchie was found guilty last year of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and aggravated child abuse. She said she left Williams alone with Ritchie even though she’d only met him a few days prior. I can admit that. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Last month, Granville Ritchie was sentenced to death for William's murder nearly a year after he was found guilty. She said she hopes the charge can be dropped. Eboni Wiley admitted that she lied to police during an investigation of the 2014 disappearance of 9-year-old Felecia Williams, who had been murdered. Granville Ritchie Trial Defense Opening Statement. Ritchie was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and aggravated child abuse in the 2014 death of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. On the stand, she wept and raised her voice at times as defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand picked away at the lies she admitted having told in the past. Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, who has acknowledged the inequities of the death penalty, said the Ritchie case is one of the few that merits the harshest sentence allowed by Florida law. “We’re going to do the best we can to try to save his life,” Brunvand said afterward. Wiley lived in the girl’s east Tampa neighborhood and considered herself like a mother to her. A year after his trial, Granville Ritchie has been sentenced to death for the 2014 murder of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. Detectives believe Ritchie and his girlfriend, Eboni Wiley, a family friend of William’s Mom, picked up the little girl the day of her murder. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and aggravated child abuse in Felecia's 2014 death. Wiley would say she had taken a shower in the apartment and that when she came out, Felecia was gone. Eboni Wiley and Granville Ritchie had known each other for only three days when Wiley decided to leave 9-year-old Felicia Williams. Felecia’s body was found floating amid the rocks and mangroves off the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Why didn’t you call 911 when my baby was missing," cried out Johnson. To do so, the defense must convince at least one juror that Ritchie should spend the rest of his life in prison. Wiley was the state's star witness and FOX 13 has learned she has been offered a sweetheart deal by the Hillsborough State Attorney's … Ritchie told Wiley to say she had brought the girl to the apartment and that a woman named Vivian — Ritchie’s mother — was there. A Florida man was convicted of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl. The girl’s mother, Felecia Demerson, held hands with Temple Terrace Police Chief Kenneth Albano as the jury’s decision was read aloud. Wiley reportedly returned 50 minutes later and Williams was nowhere to be found. "Y'all murdered my baby. There were also Ritchie’s cell phone records, which put him the vicinity of the Causeway later that night. The duo were watching the girl one day, and Ritchie took Felecia to his mother's apartment, the Associated Press reported. Moments later, his attorney, Bjorn Brunvand knelt beside him, draped an arm over his shoulders and spoke softly. Investigators said a family friend, Eboni Wiley, brought the girl to Ritchie’s Temple Terrace home on May 16, 2014, and left her there while she went to buy marijuana. A year after his trial, Granville Ritchie has been sentenced to death for the 2014 murder of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. “You all have to control that.”. Prosecutors said Ritchie had been dating Felecia's neighbor, Eboni Wiley, in May 2014. She warned that if there were any further disturbance, she could have people removed from the courthouse. She was 23. She admitted as much during Ritchie… Prosecutors said Ritchie had been dating Felecia's neighbor, Eboni Wiley, in May 2014. She was a neighbor and friend to Felecia’s family and considered herself the girl’s godmother. An investigation found Ritchie was dating the family's neighbour, Eboni Wiley, in May 2014, prosecutors said. RELATED STORY: ‘He sold me a dream.’ Ex-girlfriend links Granville Ritchie to 9-year-old murder victim. During Wiley’s testimony Tuesday, jurors were ushered out of the courtroom as Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco inquired about a disturbance in the hallway outside. Specifically, he brought up a 2012 incident in which she called police because she was having a “bad trip” after taking MDMA. Wiley went to buy marijuana – and Ritchie then strangled and assaulted the nine-year-old, prosecutors claimed. Wiley went looking for her but CVS employees had not seen the girl. Teel told the judge Demerson had accosted her outside near a vending machine. The lie later changed. Granville Ritchie Trial Defense Opening Statement. Eboni Wiley and Granville Ritchie had known each other for only three days when Wiley decided to leave 9-year-old Felicia Williams. Ex-girlfriend links Granville Ritchie to 9-year-old murder victim. Now it must decide if Ritchie should be put to death for his crimes. Prosecutors say Eboni had fallen head over heels for a man named Granville Ritchie. ", RELATED STORY: Girlfriend testifies in trial of Granville Ritchie, accused in slaying of girl, 9. As it got late, they agreed they needed to lie. RELATED STORY: ‘He sold me a dream.’ Ex-girlfriend links Granville Ritchie to 9-year-old murder victim. When Wiley came back to the apartment, she said, she prayed in a bedroom. Why didn’t you call 911 when my baby was missing," cried out Johnson. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A jury has found Granville Ritchie guilty on all charges in the death of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. They met Ritchie, who drove them to his mother’s apartment. Wiley also doesn’t deny she has taken drugs and was under the influence of MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy or molly — on the night the girl vanished. A family friend, Eboni Wiley, had brought Felecia to her acquaintance Granville Ritchie's house and left her there while Wiley went to buy cannabis. Prosecutors said Ritchie had been dating Felecia's neighbor, Eboni Wiley, in May 2014. There was the telltale mangrove leaf found lodged in the headlight of the silver Lexus that Ritchie drove, similar to vegetation in the area where the body was found. You didn’t call 911. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/grieving-dad-forgives-man-who-22674312 Brunvand also asked Wiley about her history with drugs. But she was sexually assaulted and strangled by Wiley's boyfriend Granville Ritchie when she left them alone to go out and buy marijuana. One witness was Eboni Wiley, the woman who was supposed to be taking care of Williams that day. She lied to Felecia Williams’s mother, and to the police, when she first described the circumstances of the 9-year-old girl’s disappearance in May 2014. In an interview with detectives, Ritchie repeated what Wiley described as a lie they cooked up to explain Felecia’s disappearance — that the girl had run off while he and Wiley were having sex in a bedroom. Behind them was Wiley’s sister along with her mother, Sabrina Teel. So Granville is cheating on Eboni with little kids, multiple times, and no one knows. Surveillance images captured Wiley entering the store alone at 5:40 p.m. to ask a clerk if a girl had been there. Defense had saved their openings until they started their case. “It’s only a couple seconds long, but could you hear it?” Harmon asked the jury. On the stand, she admitted … She also recounted the day Felecia vanished, when she and Ritchie picked up the girl and took her to Ritchie’s Temple Terrace apartment. For 60 seconds, there was silence. At Eboni Wiley's sentencing, no face covering could hide the disdain Felecia's grandmother, Brenda Johnson, harbored for Wiley. "Y'all murdered my baby. There was Wiley’s testimony that when she returned to the apartment, Ritchie said he’d given the girl money to buy candy at a nearby CVS store and she had not come back. In his closing argument earlier Wednesday, Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon played a recording of a 911 call that came from Ritchie’s cell phone minutes after 5 p.m. on May 16, 2014. Wiley allegedly left Williams alone with Ritchie at Ritchie’s mother’s apartment while she bought marijuana. And there was the sand found on the passenger-side floorboard and in the lining of the car’s trunk, which an expert said was consistent with the sand near where Felecia was found. Those same jurors will now have to decide whether Ritchie should die for his crimes. But it’s not over yet. Felecia Williams, nine, had been left in the care of her mum's neighbour Eboni Wiley in May 2014. Wiley says she … The three had lunch and then went to an apartment in Temple Terrace. In October, Wiley pleaded guilty to lying to police during the murder investigation of the nine-year-old. She said they’d had sex in the shower while the girl watched cartoons in the living room. She met Ritchie a few days before the girl’s death. Wiley took 9-year-old Felecia Williams from her home to Ritchie's apartment the day the girl went missing. Wiley had met Ritchie days before the murder and was instantly smitten. Wiley was the state's star witness and FOX 13 has learned she has been offered a sweetheart deal by the Hillsborough State Attorney's … It was then, prosecutors said, that he sexually assaulted and strangled the girl. TAMPA — Eboni Wiley doesn’t deny that she lied. TAMPA — It’s been six years since Eboni Wiley lied to Felecia Wiliams’ family — and the police — about the circumstances of the 9-year-old girl’s disappearance. TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - The state's key witness was back on the stand Tuesday for a second day in the murder trial of Granville Ritchie. If Ritchie is found guilty, prosecutors will ask the jury to sentence him to death. In his closing statement Wednesday, defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand asks jurors to find Granville Ritchie not guilty. But the judge wasn’t concerned about details. There is no DNA evidence linking Ritchie to the crime. The sentencing phase will start when court resumes Thursday, and prosecutors will ask the same panel to impose the death penalty. When Wiley returned to the apartment she told the jury she found Ritchie shirtless and sweating. TAMPA, Fla. - Eboni Wiley and Granville Ritchie had known each other for only three days when Wiley decided to leave 9-year-old Felecia Williams in his care while she went out to buy drugs. “Could you hear the fear? RELATED STORY: Jurors in Tampa murder trial confront ultimate question: Could they impose death penalty? Prosecutors also used key witnesses to poke holes in Ritchie's alibi for the night the 9-year-old disappeared. Ritchie, 40, is charged with murder, sexual battery and child abuse in the death of Felecia Williams on May 16, 2014. RELATED STORY: Jury in Granville Ritchie’s murder trial hears his account of girl’s disappearance. An investigation revealed family friend Eboni Wiley brought Williams to Ritchie’s apartment on May 16, 2014. Ritchie would end up raping and killing Felecia, and Wiley helped cover it up. His trial is set for Sept. 9. No hairs or fibers. RELATED STORY: ‘She was looking into the face of her killer:’ Trial opens in slaying of girl, 9. On May 16, 2014, Wiley said she picked up Williams and took her to her new boyfriend Granville Ritchie's apartment. To prosecutors, Wiley is the star witness who can point the finger at Ritchie for the murder of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. Eboni Wiley prepares to testify during Granville Ritchie's murder trial Monday. But when a prosecutor questioned her again, she made clear that the state had made no promises of leniency in exchange for her testimony against Ritchie. (CMR) Despite his lawyer arguing that his violent upbringing in Kingston, Jamaica should be taken into consideration, a Florida judge gave Granville Ritchie the death sentence for raping and killing a 9-year-old girl. The public defender who represents her watched from the courtroom gallery. On Tuesday morning, Ritchie’s defense attorney tried to cast doubt on Wiley’s credibility as she told a jury what she said was the truth. On the day she vanished, Felecia left home with Wiley. But that alone, the defense attorney noted, does not prove that Ritchie killed her. Then, she and Ritchie drank Hennessy cognac and had sex on the living room floor. Brunvand, however, acknowledged one the strongest pieces of the state’s evidence: data from Ritchie’s cell phone showing him in the area of the causeway hours after the girl was last seen. He then put her body in a suitcase and threw it in to Tampa harbour, Florida. Ritchie, 40, sat at the end of a defense table and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. Jurors in Tampa murder trial confront ultimate question: Could they impose death penalty? “It’s an opportunity to exhale,” he said. Ritchie was actually caught and jailed on drug chrages before authorities put all of the details together. The call must have been made by Felecia, the state theorized, at the time she would have been alone with Ritchie. Then they came out to find her gone. She admitted as much during Ritchie’s trial. “You described it as Satan trying to get into your mind,” Brunvand said. At Eboni Wiley's sentencing, no face covering could hide the disdain Felecia's grandmother, Brenda Johnson, harbored for Wiley. On Monday, Wiley took the witness stand and told the jury how she was smitten with the man she knew as Trevor. RELATED: Granville Ritchie found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery in Tampa 9-year-old's death. But the key witness Monday was Eboni Wiley, the woman who was supposed to be taking care of Felicia the day she disappeared. From left to right: Jerome Williams, father of 9-year-old victim Felecia Williams; mother Felecia Demerson; and Temple Terrace Police Chief Kenneth Albano lock arms and hold hands before the verdict was read aloud Wednesday in the murder trial of Granville Ritchie. One witness was Eboni Wiley, who was supposed to be taking care of Williams that day. Harmon pointed to the testimony of a doctor, who said that it would have taken about two minutes of consistent pressure to her neck for Felecia to die. No signs of a struggle. 40-year-old Granville Ritchie was convicted of first-degree murder, sexual beating and aggravating child abuse. She only told the truth, she said, after learning that the girl had been found dead. Ritchie was a stranger to Felecia, but they both knew Eboni Wiley. 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