Ex-Virginia Tech linebacker Isi Etute found not guilty of second-degree murder charge in Tinder beating case – USA TODAY
Former Virginia Tech linebacker Isi Etute was found not guilty of second-degree murder Friday in the 2021 death of Jerry Smith, an openly gay man who had presented himself on Tinder as a woman.
Etute, 19, said he received oral sex from Smith – who had presented himself on Tinder as a woman named Angie Renee – in April 2021, then returned 51 days later to determine if Smith was a woman. He admitted to punching and kicking Smith, a 40-year-old restaurant manager, in his Blacksburg, Virginia, apartment after discovering that he was a man.
Smith was found dead the next day, and the local medical examiner’s office ruled that he died of blunt force trauma to the head.
“Every bone in Jerry’s face was broken,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jason Morgan said during the trial, according to The Roanoke Times.
Etute’s lawyer, Jimmy Turk, argued that Etute acted in self-defense after seeing Smith reach toward his bed, where police later found a knife.
Turk also portrayed Etute as the victim of a “criminal ruse” and characterized Smith as a “deceitful and dishonest man” who “defrauded young men for his own sexual gratification,” according to The Roanoke Times.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Etute did not act in self-defense, noting that he punched or kicked the much smaller Smith at least six times, including after he was on the ground. They also noted that Etute did not mention Smith reaching for anything in his initial interview with police.
Etute likely would have faced between 12 and 20 years in prison if convicted, according to Virginia state sentencing guidelines. The jury also could have found Etute guilty of a lesser charge, voluntary manslaughter, but instead found him not guilty.
A Virginia Beach native, Etute had enrolled early at Virginia Tech last year, arriving on campus as a three-star prospect at linebacker. He was promptly suspended by the football team and the university after his arrest. School spokespeople said earlier this month that he is no longer a member of the team and isn’t a student at the university.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.