BALTIMORE — It’s not very often you get a conclusion to two high-profile trials on the same day.
But in Baltimore City, that’s exactly what took place Thursday. 16-year-old Tavon Scott was convicted of manslaughter in the death of 48-year-old Timothy Reynolds, and Michael Robertson was convicted of murder for Akia Eggleston's death.
David Jaros, who teaches this at the University of Baltimore Law School, helped break things down.
A jury convicted Robertson of murdering Eggleston, a pregnant woman, who was the mother of Robertson's unborn child.
RELATED: Guilty verdict in murder of missing Baltimore woman Akia Eggleston
Her last known appearance was at a bank on the Inner Harbor, but she was never seen again, meaning, her body was never discovered. So how did a jury convict a suspect of murder without there being a body? Jaros tells WMAR-2 News it’s not all that unheard of.
"It does happen," said Jaros. "When the prosecution doesn’t have a body, of course, they have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. And it leaves it open for the defense to argue there hasn’t yet been a homicide. But given all the evidence you can bring forth - it’s not impossible for a jury to be persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt that a homicide occurred."
The other major decision made was that the teen squeegee worker convicted in the death of a 48-year-old man was convicted of manslaughter after shooting Timothy Reynolds in July of last year. The big question is whether this is successfully moved to juvenile court, which would mean a much lighter sentence than the 35 years he could get now.
RELATED: Teen guilty of manslaughter in deadly squeegee encounter with Timothy Reynolds
Scott’s lawyers are trying to make that happen, and Jaros says it might be for the better.
"I think there’s a lot of arguments for why this case belonged there. He was charged with first degree murder - and that’s what started this case up above, and ultimately a different judge that tried the case determined it should stay here - at least for the trial. Now that the jury has not found him guilty of either first or second degree murder - we revisit that question, about what’s in the defendant’s interest and, more broadly, what’s in the public’s interest," said Jaros.
Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced on October 25.
