TAMPA, Fla. — After a five-day trial, a Hillsborough County jury came to a unanimous decision to find Matthew Terry guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend.
Jury deliberations began at around 3 p.m. in the murder trial against Matthew Terry late Tuesday. Terry, 47, was accused of stabbing his girlfriend, Kay Baker to death this past May.
Due to the verdict, Terry's bond has also been revoked. The case now moves to the penalty phase.
The case recently gained even more attention because suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren originally said prosecutors would not seek the death penalty in this case.
But when Governor DeSantis suspended Warren, interim State Attorney Susan Lopez said they would.
Both sides rested their case Tuesday, with Terry’s defense team calling no witnesses and then prosecutors and the defense presenting final arguments.
Some of the last testimony jurors heard today before starting their deliberations came from a former live-in girlfriend of Terry’s - Michelle Rogers - who testified Terry had attacked her in 2017 with an eerily similar set of allegations to this case. Out at a bar - drinking. Later chasing her with a knife. Attacking - beating and stabbing Rogers multiple times - telling her he was going to kill her.
“I was really disoriented and dizzy. And I was hearing all this shuffling in the kitchen. And then the next thing you know Mr. Terry comes around behind me and stabs me in the neck,” said Rogers.
Matthew Terry told the judge several times it was his desire to testify on his own behalf, but that he had decided to follow his lawyers’ advice and not take the stand.
With that - both sides presented their final arguments.
The defense tore apart witness testimony, introducing a self-defense theory - a mystery suspect who they say attacked both Baker and Terry - hoping to sew doubt.
But prosecutors said the evidence points to no one else but Terry.
“He did not either get chased by the phantom attacker or chase down the phantom attacker as if it’s some narrative that he is the brave hero,” said prosecutor Justin Diaz. “Matthew Terry killed Kay Baker. He ran from the scene.”
“Matt did have Kay’s blood on his hands. He did touch the wall where you saw the BB. Because he got attacked. And was bleeding too,” said defense attorney Donna Perry referring to lettered exhibits. “And did stumble into the fence you saw at the U. Because again Kay’s blood was on his hands from him trying to help her and then when he got attacked and was bleeding his blood was on his hands too."