Lisa Troemner
After nearly a month of trial, and a second day of deliberation (the jury went home after a couple hours of deliberations yesterday evening), Lisa Troemner has been found not guilty of second degree murder. There was a chance the jury could have given her a lesser charge, but the Defense’s justifiable use of force case persuaded them, or at least gave them a reasonable doubt. In addition to Ms. Troemner testifying to her relationship with Trevor Smith, she stated that she was scared of him, that he was abusive and controlling, even violent the evening leading up to the killing (he had a BAC over .30). The Defense also presented expert testimony that she was suffering from battered spouse syndrome and even forensic expert testimony that indicated there had been a struggle at the apartment. The State countered with a week’s worth of rebuttal testimony, including counter-experts regarding battered spouse syndrome, and testimony from friends and family of Trevor Smith that in fact Troemner was the jealous, controlling party.
Troemner was facing life in prison if convicted of second degree murder, but she will likely be out of jail this afternoon. This is a huge win for Donald Day and the defense team, and another big Collier County loss for the State already this year… and expensive after a month of trial. Troemner had been in custody since the date of the arrest, in December, 2014. There was the possibility of a lesser charge, but the jury decided completely in her favor, complete acquittal. There is no appeal on a not guilty verdict.
First reported by Hot Story: https://twitter.com/hotstorycrime/status/962027561055219713
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