Gay man's chilling video before being gunned down in Tampa Bay dog park... as murder suspect claims bombshell text messages change everything

A gay man who was changeable successful a canine parkland recorded a chilling video the time earlier helium died, with his substance messages present a important portion of the suspect's execution trail. 

Gerald Declan Radford, who was 65 astatine the clip of the shooting, was charged with second-degree execution aft John Walter Lay, 54, was changeable and killed successful February earlier this year. 

Friends of some men said that Radford, who claims helium acted successful self-defense, had allegedly been harassing Lay for months including calling him homophobic slurs and threatening him. 

The men had allegedly go friends aft gathering successful the canine park, but the relationship soured aft they got into a confrontation implicit Lay being gay, according to WTVT.  

Now, a video that Lay took connected February 1, the time earlier helium was gunned down, shows him documenting his absorption to an brushwood with Radford.

Lay said to the camera that helium was signaling for a 'video diary' helium was advised by constabulary to create. 

'I'm trying not to telephone the police,' helium added earlier recalling his greeting events, wherever the brace encountered each different unsocial successful the park. 

'He comes up to maine and screams astatine me, "You're going to die, you're going to die," and I asked him to conscionable permission alone,' Lay said successful the video, which was sent to friend, Kim Wolfley.

Wolfley told People: 'This to maine sounds similar it was premeditated. It conscionable floored maine erstwhile I saw the video.'  

That aforesaid day, Lay sent a bid of substance messages which defence lawyer Matthew J Futch argues is impervious it was really Lay who planned an onslaught connected Radford. 

'He truly doesn't intimidate me,' Lay wrote to Sue Jones, a person who had often spoken to Lay astir the concern betwixt the 2 men. 

'I thought, if helium blocks my way again, I'll effort to tackle him. He's truly older than he looks. He's anemic and feeble. I'll support you informed. This play should beryllium drama.' 

About 13 minutes later, Lay sent different to Jones which read: 'He's devour up with bursitis! I deliberation helium wants maine to bushed him. In immoderate weird brainsick sex... I don't know. Lol.' 

Futch noted that the messages were sent aft the video wherever Lay recalled their brushwood earlier that time was recorded. 

He past argued that the substance messages amusement that hours aft Lay claimed Radford had threatened his life, helium was 'meticulously readying his onslaught and relishing successful the play it volition origin without immoderate notation to Sue Jones of the alleged threats made to him that precise morning.'

The substance messages, according to Futch, pb to the decision that Lay 'was looking to onslaught Mr Radford.' 

Hours aft the shooting, Radford had sent substance messages to a communal person of some men and wrote: 'I'm truthful atrocious to archer you, Walt attacked maine and I had to support myself. I ne'er thought helium would spell for me. I truly sorry. I truly had nary prime helium was excessively crazy.' 

The connection was accompanied by a photograph of Radford with what appeared to beryllium bruising nether 1 eye, cuts connected his chemoreceptor and an abrasion supra 1 of his eyebrows. 

Futch told the Tampa Bay Times the texts from Lay 'seismically changes the tenor of this case' and it should merit the lawsuit being thrown out. 

He described the concern arsenic a 'miscarriage of justice' and added: 'An guiltless antheral has been sitting successful jailhouse since aboriginal March, the State present has nonstop grounds that 18 hours anterior to the shooting, the alleged unfortunate was outlining his program to tackle a 'weak and feeble' antheral who the alleged unfortunate successful his ain words was not truly intimidated by.' 

Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the State Attorney's Office, said successful an email that the question had been reviewed and '[we] support our presumption that the shooting was not an enactment of self-defense.' 

Maloney added: 'It besides does not alteration our presumption that the suspect should beryllium held successful custody anterior to trial.' 

The complications of the lawsuit are entangled with Florida's 'stand your ground' self-defense law, which states that a idiosyncratic who is not doing thing amerciable and is attacked successful a spot wherever they person a close to beryllium tin usage deadly unit if they reasonably judge it is necessary. 

Hillsborough State Attorney, Suzy Lopez, said successful a connection successful March that Radford acted 'from hatred wrong his heart', reported People. 

Lopez added: 'We should each beryllium capable to bask a time astatine the canine parkland without the fearfulness of gunfire. This unfortunate besides deserved to unrecorded escaped from fearfulness and favoritism based connected his intersexual orientation. The grounds shows the defendant's actions were motivated by hate, and we volition beryllium held accountable. My bosom is with the victim's household and ample radical of friends arsenic we combat for justness together.'  

Radford's archetypal bail proceeding was successful March, wherever prosecutors argued that the slug trajectory revealed from Lay's autopsy was 'inconsistent with Radford's relationship of the shooting', reported Tampa Bay Times. 

Radford besides claimed that Lay attacked him with a metallic vessel successful the 911 call. Two metallic question cups were recovered astatine the scene, 1 Radford claimed to beryllium his ain and was unsure who owned the second. 

Lay's assemblage was recovered to person aggregate scrapes connected his knees, according to the autopsy, and Radford was recovered astatine the country with cuts and bruises connected his face. 

A person of Lay, Samantha Hitchcock, claimed to person heard Radford usage homophobic slurs astatine some her and Lay connected galore occasions but that Lay ne'er initiated fights with Radford. 

She told People: 'Walt ne'er instigated thing astatine all. He ever walked away. He would say, "leave maine alone" - helium was conscionable that benignant of person.'  

A Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office homicide detective testified that a witnesser had overheard Radford say, 'I conscionable privation to termination him,' aft walking distant from an statement with Lay days earlier the shooting. 

Radford faces a beingness condemnation successful situation if helium is recovered blameworthy arsenic charged. If a assemblage finds him blameworthy of the lesser complaint of manslaughter with a weapon, this usually carries up to 30 years, but helium could besides look a beingness condemnation with the summation of a hatred transgression charge.