High school football captain, 18, who 'stabbed 27-year-old gay lover to death', says he was sexually assaulted by victim

Case of Sexual Circumstances

12-11-2013 Connecticut:

The captain of the Bloomfield High School football team, who is on trial for the murder of a 27-year-old with whom he had been having a sexual relationship, claims to have been sexually and physically assaulted by the man in the past.

Tarence Mitchell, 18, of Bloomfield, Connecticut, has admitted to stabbing Ronald Taylor Jr - known as 'City' - five times in the torso with a steak knife out the front of his home on November 21, after trying to break off their two-year relationship.

The athlete was recently released from jail and placed under house arrest after his mother posted his $1 million bail with the help of a bail bondsman.

In a 20-page document filed to the Superior Court, Mitchell's lawyer Morgan P. Rueckert, said his client's admission to police supports a their defense that Mitchell was defending himself and didn't intend to kill Taylor, according to Courant.

However Judge Joan Alexander questioned the self-defense suggestion during Mitchell's court appearance and noted that Mitchell initially lied about what had happened, blaming unidentified people wearing hoodies for the stabbing.

In his motion, Rueckert wrote that Taylor, 'an adult, provided drugs to and sexually assaulted the defendant when he was a minor, and then attempted to use the threat of disclosing the defendant's past victimization, along with the threat of, and actual, physical violence to force the defendant to engage in sexual contact'.

The assault was not elaborated further.



Taylor had posted on Facebook that Mitchell was a 'Bloomfield gay football player', Mitchell told police. He said Taylor left the post up for five hours before deleting it but later threatened to post it again if Mitchell didn't stop distancing himself from him.

Mitchell just wanted to be friends with Taylor, but Taylor 'wanted more than that and wanted to have a relationship with him,' the court report says.

The day of the stabbing, Taylor texted Mitchell and told him that he was coming over that night and that 'it wasn't going to end well'.

Mitchell put a steak knife in his right front pants pocket, he told police, fearing Taylor was going to do something 'outrageous'.

He got into the front passenger seat of Taylor's car, and Taylor asked to see his cell phone.

Taylor became jealous that Mitchell had sent cheerful text messages to girls, the report says.

Taylor started to yell at Mitchell and positioned his pointer and middle fingers like a gun, the report says. He started 'mushing' the side of Mitchell's head, Mitchell told police.

Taylor hit Mitchell in the face, and Mitchell pulled the knife out of his pocket and stabbed Taylor twice, he told police.

Taylor climbed over him, and Mitchell stabbed him as he did, the report says. Taylor opened the passenger side door and started running away.

Mitchell started chasing Taylor, who said, 'I take it back, I take it back. I didn't mean to do this,' Mitchell told investigators.

They ran into the front yard of a neighboring house at 27 Hill Farm Road, and Taylor turned toward him and held his hands up in the air.

Mitchell stabbed him again, according to the report.

Taylor fell, got up and ran again, this time into Mitchell's front yard at 24 Hill Farm Road.

Mitchell followed him again, he told police, and stabbed him one last time — five times total, the report says.

An ambulance transported Taylor to Saint Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to court documents, Mitchell first lied to police about the stabbing, claiming both he and Taylor were attacked by two men.

On his Facebook page, Mitchell is listed as 'interested in women'.

Police set bond initially at $500,000 but then upped it to $1 million.

Mitchell has no arrest history.

Mitchell's mother, Tyra Smith, defended her son, saying 'he's never been in trouble'.

'He's a star athlete, he’s loved all around town, everybody knows him.

'This is just so shocking.

'I send my deepest condolences to the victim’s family but my son is not a murderer.'

After posting his bail, Smith said she was happy to have her son back.

'We have a long road, but I would rather he fight from home than in prison,' she told reporters outside court. ..Source.. by Daily Mail Reporter