		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="109460728"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
<h1 class="has-text-color wp-block-heading" style="color:#2b2424;font-size:14px"><strong>Former college ball player cleared of beating male Tinder date to death after he lied he was a woman and performed oral sex on him </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-text-color wp-block-heading" style="color:#2b2424;font-size:14px"><strong>Isimemen David Etute, <strong>then 18,</strong> was arrested on June 2, 2021 and charged in the death of Blacksburg, Va., restaurant manager Jerry Paul Smith, 40 </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-text-color wp-block-heading" style="color:#2b2424;font-size:14px"><strong>When he discovered the deception, Etute allegedly punched and stomped Smith multiple times on May 31</strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-text-color wp-block-heading" style="color:#2b2424;font-size:14px"><strong>The defendant testified that he felt &#8216;violated&#8217; after Smith lied to him leading to a confrontation </strong></h1>



<h1 class="has-text-color wp-block-heading" style="color:#2b2424;font-size:14px"><strong>Etute, 19, was on Friday found not guilty of a charge of second-degree murder in the 2021 death of Jerry Smith</strong></h1>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Isimemen-Etute-6.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408688" width="840" height="543"/><figcaption><strong>Isimemen Etute, 19, a former Virginia Tech football player was on Friday, May 27, found not guilty of a charge of second-degree murder in the 2021 death of Jerry Smith,</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>Former Virginia Tech football player has been acquitted of beating his male Tinder date to death last year, after claiming the man had lied about being a woman and then performed oral sex on him. <br>Isimemen David Etute, then 18, was arrested on June 2, 2021 and charged in the death of Blacksburg, Va., restaurant manager Jerry Paul Smith after allegedly punching and stomping the 40-year-old multiple times on May 31. <br>Nearly one year later, the former college athlete was on Friday found not guilty of a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Smith of Blacksburg, Virginia. <br>Etute visited the victim in April 2021, to engage in oral sex with a woman he believed to be named &#8216;Angie,&#8217; but who was actually Smith. <br>Etute told police Smith was hiding his face during the intercourse and he paid him $50 at the end. <br>The athlete also said he stopped messaging Smith after the interaction because he wasn&#8217;t sure &#8216;Angie&#8217; was telling the truth about their identity. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Jerry-Smith-4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408691" width="834" height="662"/><figcaption> <strong>Etute visited the Jerry Smith, 40, last year in Blacksburg, Virginia, to engage in oral sex with a woman he believed to be named &#8216;Angie,&#8217; but who was actually Smith. An enraged Etute stomped Smith to death during a second visit after discovering he was a man</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>But a month later, Smith reached out to him again and invited him over, telling him to bring some friends. He then went back to Smith&#8217;s downtown Blacksburg apartment to find out whether Smith was a male or a female, police said. He used his phone&#8217;s flashlight in the darkened apartment to get a better look at Smith.<br>Prosecutors told the jury earlier that Etute was enraged and fatally beat Smith when he discovered &#8216;Angie&#8217; was actually a man. The linebacker reportedly groped Smith before allegedly beating him to death in what Etute claimed was self-defense. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-9.png" alt="" class="wp-image-408697"/><figcaption><strong>Isimemen David Etute, 18, [left] was charged with second-degree murder in June 2021, in the death of Jerry Paul Smith, 40, [right], after allegedly punching and stomping the restaurant manager <strong>during a Tinder date</strong>, after discovering Smith was actually a man, rather than the woman he&#8217;d claimed to be </strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>In his testimony on Thursday, Etute testified that Smith reached for what he thought was a gun. Smith did not own a gun, but police reported finding a knife between the man&#8217;s mattress and box spring. Etute said he punched Smith five times and kicked him to gain time to escape the apartment. <br>As the football player was leaving, prosecutors say, Etute heard &#8216;bubbling and gurgling&#8217; coming from Smith but did not call the police. <br>Prosecutor Patrick Jensen had maintained that Etute had not acted in self-defense. He argued that after Etute punched Smith and Smith fell to the floor, there was &#8216;no way&#8217; Smith could have reached a weapon under his mattress. <br>&#8216;He could never reach a gun from there,&#8217; Jensen said. <br>Jensen recalled the testimony of medical examiner Dr. Amy Tharp, who Jensen said testified Smith had been the victim of a &#8216;brutal beating.&#8217;<br>Jensen said that while Etute was wearing flip-flops at the time of the encounter, those shoes were attached to a &#8216;big person&#8217; and a &#8216;strong person.&#8217; He compared Etute, an &#8216;elite college athlete,&#8217; to Smith, who weighed 153 pounds. <br>&#8216;That&#8217;s a big disparity,&#8217; Jensen said. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Isimemen-Etute-7.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408694" width="839" height="539"/><figcaption><strong>Former Virginia tech player Isimemen Etute [photo], testified that he felt &#8216;violated&#8217; after Smith lied to him. </strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>The former Virginia tech player also testified that he felt &#8216;violated&#8217; after Smith lied to him. <br>One of the prosecutors said at closing arguments Friday that Etute gave different versions of events to police and the jury, and that the charge may have been enough for him to change his testimony. <br>&#8216;He has a tremendous amount riding on this trial,&#8217; Jensen had said during his closing argument hours earlier Friday, The Roanoke Times reported. Defense attorney Jimmy Turk also told the jurors earlier on Friday, May 27, that the commonwealth&#8217;s evidence was circumstantial, while the defense&#8217;s evidence, which included the testimony of Etute, was direct. <br>Turk also said Smith was &#8216;controlling the entire environment and the entire episode.&#8217; He added that Smith had &#8216;demanded that it be dark&#8217; and had hidden a knife under his mattress &#8216;in case there was something awry.&#8217; <br>Turk also argued that police didn&#8217;t ask Etute essential questions about Smith&#8217;s knife or Etute&#8217;s fear while in the apartment, two questions whose answers could have shown whether Etute was afraid for his life and acting in self-defense. <br>The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before returning its not guilty verdict around 6.30pm, The Roanoke Times reported. </p>

Former Virginia Tech football player cleared of beating male Tinder date to death last year, after the victim lied he was a woman and performed oral sex on him
