Just hours into the state's case Wednesday against William Kenneth Taylor, jurors heard something they shouldn't have. On the witness stand, a Hillsborough sheriff's detective read a letter in which the defendant admitted to burglaries in Miami.
While the court had ruled other incriminating evidence inadmissible, the bit about the burglaries apparently snuck past prosecutors and defense attorneys until it came out in court. Result? Mistrial.
The state is seeking the death penalty for Taylor, 45, of Tampa, who is accused of killing Sandra Kushmer of Riverview and beating her brotherduring a 2001 robbery. Another trial is scheduled June 1.
