JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The man convicted of murder in the 1994 death of a Nassau County teen will not get a new trial, a judge ruled Monday.
Defense attorneys for Ronnie Hyde filed a motion for a new trial, which Judge Tatiana Salvador denied in a hearing Monday. The hearing was a pretrial for Hyde's remaining 25 counts in the case, all charges of possessing child pornography.
Just over a week ago, the former church pastor was convicted of murdering and dismembering 16-year-old Fred Laster. The teen's torso was discovered behind a Lake City Dumpster in what remained an unsolved cold case for nearly three decades.
Prosecutors found numerous discs during a search of his Jacksonville Beach home, containing what they say were hundreds of images of child sexual abuse. Each charge is punishable by 15 years in prison.
In Monday's hearing, Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi asked the judge for an additional two weeks to "negotiate, potentially" the remaining counts.
Hyde is due back in court April 25 for another pretrial hearing.
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The lead FBI agent on the case testified her crews were unable to follow their usual protocol for collecting evidence because Hyde’s home was so full of trash, agents couldn’t safely navigate it. She said they took most items outside to photograph and catalogue, and were required to wear extra PPE and respirators because of what she called “the heavy odor emanating from the house."
Hyde received a mandatory life sentence in prison with 1851 days already served.