After mom convicted of murder, son and juror leave court hand-in-hand

The couple was spotted leaving the courtroom, hand-in-hand, reports jacksonville.com. But the problem was, it was a juror holding hands with the murder defendant's son, just minutes after a guilty verdict in a murder trial.

Conflict-of-interest questions arose afterward and the juror, Amanda Daniels of Maccleny, faced questions about what she knew and told other jurors about the case. Apparently, Daniels and murder defendant Meloney Lee Jackson's son had dated in the past and "met back up'' after Jackson's arrest.

Jackson, 41, was found guilty of first-degree in the murder of husband Kevin Jackson, 47, a day before the couple's divorce would be finalized. Minutes after the verdict, Daniels returned to the courtroom and left holding hands with Jackson's son, James Wallace.

The public defender has filed a motion to set the verdicde aside and wants a hearing in July.

"Stephen King killed John Lennon"

Last week's meeting of the Sarasota City Commission took a crazy -- and we do mean crazy -- turn when a man used the public comment portion of the meeting to warn commissioners that they were harboring the most dangerous criminal in the country -- Casey Key resident Stephen King! Watch:

A case of juror's remorse

A juror uncomfortable with a second-degree murder conviction told a judge she was pressured into the verdict, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. “Eleven of them were in my face for four hours,’’ Constance Zetterlund, 47, said of the other jurors. Joannes Pierre was convicted in the June 2005 beating death of the mother of his 8-month-old daughter. Zetterlund said she had wanted a manslaughter charge instead. At the end of the day, the verdict stood, and Pierre will be sentenced to life in prison July 3. “Jurors can’t change their mind,’’ said prosecutor Scott Raft. “There’s no such thing as buyer’s remorse.’’

He confessed to enough murders to be a serial killer

Authorities in Gulf County have a fellow in custody who has confessed to enough murders to be called a serial killer, the Northwest Florda Daily News reports. The man is serving a life sentence for the death of a 29-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared in 1989. But he also has confessed to killing an 18-year-old woman who's skeletal remains were found in 1986, a 23-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death in her car in 1990 and a 36-year-old mother of two who disappeared from her motel in Panama City Beach in 1992. Those are the ones authorities think he did. Still, they're being cautious. He has confessed to other they're not certain he did.

He talked a blue streak about the murder

When Manatee detectives asked a 20-year-old man about the murder of a teenager, he talked a blue streak. His pal was probably the killer, he said. His pal borrowed his truck (the one with the shell casing in it) and came back two guns (the ones stashed under the bed), the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports. His pal told him he shot up a foe's trailer, the young man told the cops, who promptly arrested the pal and charged him with murder. The pal even admitted to the cops that, yep, he did have an argument with the teen who was killed.

Thing is, the pal also told the cops his talkative friend called him to say he'd "taken care of" the teen. And the cops have cell phone records that confirm Mr. Talker made a call minutes after the killing. Plus, the DNA on the guns matches Mr. Talker, not his pal. Mr. Talker was charged with murder. No word on whether he's still talking.

High-stakes poker turned very deadly

Several Palatka area men gathered at a former jook joint to play high-stakes poker last Friday night. One of the men lost heavily and left. But authorities say he came back later in the evening intent on collecting his losses. When they arrived Saturday morning, the owner of the place and his daughter found three of the poker players lying on the floor, dead from gunshot wounds, the Palatka Daily News reports. "The room had blood everywhere," said the daughter about the grisly scene.

A body in the front seat for 16 hours

Sometimes as more details emerge a strange tale becomes even stranger. Remember the woman who was found burning two days before Christmas in the woods near a church in Royal Palm Beach? Authorities say she was part of a love triangle just before she died, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Here's what detectives believe happened: The woman worked with the man who killed her. He was trying to make his girlfriend jealous so he took the woman to see his girlfriend at 4 a.m. The women argued. The victim spit in the girlfriend's face. The man drove away with the victim and tried to get her to be quiet but she continued to yell. He stopped the car and strangled her.

He came back to his girlfriend about 6 a.m. and told her the other woman wouldn't be a problem anymore. For the next 16 hours the victim's body lay in the front seat of the man's car with a comforter draped over it. Later, the man dumped the body under a palmetto tree in the woods at a Catholic church and set her on fire. A passing deputy thought a glow coming from the church property at 3 a.m. was strange and investigated. That's when he found the burning body.

A birthday card from the man accused of killing her

Tiffany Barwick's parents opened the mail recently to find a birthday card for their slain daughter - from the man accused of killing her, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

"Today I got a notice that basically says your parents don't care what I have to say and don't want to hear from me anymore," Andrew Allred wrote. "I know how close you were with your mother and that you used to tell her everything so I figured she would want to hear from me."

It was just the latest in a string of mail Instead Allred has sent the Barwicks, prompting them to seek legislation to give anyone harassed by an ex-lover the same protection that spouses have under domestic-violence laws.

Meanwhile, a judge has ordered Allred to stop all communication with the Barwicks.

Man with fool for a client found guilty of murder

The 81-year-old man who defended himself against first-degree murder charges stemming from a shooting at a Boca Raton synagogue was found guilt of first-degree murder, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Among Marc Benayer's defense: self-defense and temporary insanity. He jousted with witnesses, derided the prosecutors and claimed evidence was switched.

Now that's a hostile witness

An 81-year-old man who is defending himself against first-degree murder charges called an unusual witness in his defense: A man he is accused of trying to kill.

Marc Benayer, whose defense has been marked by bizarre twists and turns, even complimented foe Mark Levy for his testimony, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Levy is one of two men Benayer says plotted to destroy his life after Benayer's girlfriend asked them to help her escape Benayer's abuse. Benayer is accused of killing the other man outside a synagogue. Benayer asked whether Levy on Tuesday whether he once said he would pay someone $200,000 to have Benayer killed.

"I don't have $200,000 ... and you're not worth $200,000 and I am not a murderer,"  Levy shot back.

"Well done," Benayer said.