ORLANDO, Fla. – More testimony was presented Tuesday in the penalty phase of Markeith Loyd’s second murder trial.
Loyd, already serving a life sentence for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Sade Dixon, could face the death penalty after a jury found him guilty of murder in the shooting death of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton.
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Tuesday’s proceedings began with the state calling a probation officer who supervised Loyd while he was under supervision for felony offenses.
State has started by calling witnesses. Right now probation officer is on the stand. He says they supervised Loyd while he was under supervision for felony offenses.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
A cousin of Clayton was then called to the stand, and jurors could be seen wiping tears away as she read her impact statement.
In part, Clayton’s cousin said she and Clayton were “kindred spirits” and that the day her cousin was killed, she “died that day, too.”
Some jurors can be seen wiping tears away as the cousin of Lt. Debra Clayton read a victim impact statement
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
Lt. Clayton’s cousin talked about how they were inseparable, calling them kindred spirits. And said the day Clayton was killed, she too died that day. She said it killed her inside, losing someone so close to her.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
The state rested its case at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The defense has moved for a judgment of acquittal. The first witnesses for the defense Tuesday afternoon was an Orange County detective who worked the Dixon murder case.
The detective’s testimony was about the gun that killed Dixon, saying the weapon used to shoot the victim was not her own gun.
The defense has moved for a judgement of acquittal
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
His testimony has been about the gun fired that killed Dixon— saying while her gun was found in the front yard — a 9mm gun— it wasn’t hers that was used. He says the gun that killed her was not a 9mm.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
Court has reconvened and the defense has called their first witness. It’s an Orange County detective who worked the Sade Dixon murder case.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
His testimony has been about the gun fired that killed Dixon— saying while her gun was found in the front yard — a 9mm gun— it wasn’t hers that was used. He says the gun that killed her was not a 9mm.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) November 30, 2021
On Monday, the jury heard emotional testimony from Dixon’s mother, who recounted the day her daughter and son, who survived, were shot.
“The first thing I saw was my daughter laying on one side of the door and my son laying in the rocks -- it’s like a flower bed but it’s rocks around the foundation,” she said. “He was laying in the front of that, and all I was screaming was, ‘My babies, my babies, my babies.’”
Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill also took the stand, discussing Clayton’s impact on the community.
“It’s surreal that’s such a beautiful, compassionate angel such as Lt. Debra Clayton is, as the police say, no longer in service because all she did was serve and protect,” Hill said.
Loyd’s defense team is hoping evidence from his 2017 arrest will lead to a life sentence, not the death penalty, for Clayton’s murder. Defense attorney Terry Lenamon said Loyd lost an eye during his arrest because of officers’ use of force.
Judge Leticia Marques previously ruled the she will allow Loyd to testify during the penalty phase and jurors will be permitted to view helicopter video that captured Loyd’s arrest.