 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Suspect faces his second murder trialBy GRAHAM BRINK © St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000 TAMPA -- Raymond Lamar Johnston, already facing execution for killing a Northdale woman, was back in court Monday for the start of his second first-degree murder trial. Johnston is accused of killing Janice Marie Nugent, a 47-year-old massage therapist found dead Feb. 7, 1997, in her Seminole Heights home. Jury selection began Monday and opening statements could begin today. A grand jury indicted Johnston in August 1999, two weeks after he was found guilty of murdering LeAnne Coryell. The 30-year-old dental assistant was found beaten, strangled and raped not far from her apartment complex in August 1997. Bank cameras later caught Johnston using her bank card to withdraw $1,200. He originally told detectives he had met Coryell the night she died at Malio's in South Tampa and that they had dinner together. After his trial, Johnston admitted they were strangers when he attacked Coryell outside her apartment. Police linked Johnston to Nugent's case soon after his arrest in the Coryell case. Malio's employees said he and Nugent were seen there together several times. After his indictment last year, Johnston told the Times that he had dated Nugent once, months before she was killed. They met at Malio's, he said, but only went to dinner once somewhere else, and returned to her house. Johnston, a 45-year-old businessman with a long prison record for raping women, said he left abruptly after Nugent poured burning hot oil on him in preparation for a massage. He said he never saw her again. Nugent was discovered in her bathtub, beaten and strangled. Investigators said there was no forced entry into her home on W Chelsea Avenue, which suggests she knew her attacker. - Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
