CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Thirteen years ago, it took a jury about 90 minutes for a jury to convict Michael Renard Jackson of the murder of Andrea Boyer, who investigators said was sexually assaulted and beaten to death at the veterinary clinic where she worked in 2007.
The suspect was quickly convicted and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out after the court found Clay County deputies made prejudicial statements on the stand.
On Thursday, Jackson was back in court on the same charge for a retrial.
He was previously arrested less than a month after Boyer’s colleague found her body at a veterinary practice in Orange Park soon after she usually opened — around 6:30 a.m.
Investigators said she had been raped and DNA evidence found at the scene was a match for Jackson. He had previously been convicted in a separate rape and burglary and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but he was released early and had not been out for long before Boyer was killed.
The prosecution brought up Jackson’s previous conviction in court Thursday. The survivor from that case testified privately.
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But one of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators on the 1986 case — TC O’Steen — took the stand. He now works as investigator for the State Attorney’s Office.
He testified that Jackson, who was 16 at the time, was calm when he was arrested and was charged as an adult at the time.
O’Steen also said an older woman who was living with Jackson was also arrested for a crime against him.
O’Steen: “She was arrested by my partner.”
Defense attorney: “For sexual battery where he was the victim?”
O’Steen: “Yes as I recall.”
On Friday, the jury is expected to begin deliberations — 16 years after Boyer’s death.
The retrial has taken so long because of a fight over DNA evidence found on a fire extinguisher that prosecutors believe to be the murder weapon, as well as delays due to COVID.
The State Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty for Jackson if convicted.