Latest / Least of These / 252. "Fugitive" - The Case of Theresa Green - Orlando, Florida - [Part 2 of 2]

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252. "Fugitive" - The Case of Theresa Green - Orlando, Florida - [Part 2 of 2] · Least of These

0:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to least of these where I cover the cases that need it most because every life matters and everyone deserves justice.
0:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host Leia D. Today I'll be bringing you the conclusion of the cases of Ivory Huntly and Teresa Green.
0:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's get right to it.
0:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Demora's Hunter had murdered Caesar Guzman, Eric Wright, and shot and wounded Adolfus Williams in 1985, and had been offered a plea deal that resulted in a 24-year prison sentence.
1:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter served 13 years of that sentence before he was hurled in November of 1997.
1:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Just a little more than four years after his release, Hunter was accused of murdering two women in two different states.
1:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Ivory Huntley in Oakland, California, and Teresa Green in Orlando, Florida.
1:28
[SPEAKER_00]: As we know he went on the run, but was ultimately captured in February of 2003 in the state of Texas, following his appearance on the TV show, America's most wanted.
1:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter was first extradited to California to face charges in Ivory Huntley's murder.
1:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Nearly three years after Ivory was murdered, Demora's 100 finally went on trial for her debt.
1:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Despite his plea of not guilty on March 22nd of 2005, an Oakland jury found him guilty of murder, and honestly, it wasn't surprising.
1:59
[SPEAKER_00]: There were witnesses who had watched in horror as Hunter shot Ivory on the sidewalk that night in 2002, after he had already beaten both Ivory and the woman she had stepped in to protect.
2:10
[SPEAKER_00]: The East Bay Times reported that Alameda County Superior Court Judge Julie Conger handed down four life sentences, totaling 110 years in prison before Demores Hunter would even be eligible for parole.
2:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Essentially Hunter was never getting out of prison.
2:26
[SPEAKER_00]: After sentencing, prosecutor John Bruhar to address the media, stating, The facts of this case and the defendant shocking criminal history demonstrate that he is a miserable human being who richly deserves the sentence of 110 years to life.
2:39
[SPEAKER_00]: This murder was senseless and brutal.
2:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Ivory's mother Shirley McNiel spoke to the East Bay Times, and she told the outlet just how much she missed her daughter.
2:49
[SPEAKER_00]: She revealed that she and Ivory had been extremely close.
2:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Ivory called her three or four times a day.
2:56
[SPEAKER_00]: The mother and daughter had talked on the phone just two hours before Ivory was murdered.
3:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And though nearly three years had passed, Shirley still found herself waiting by the phone for a phone call, one that would never come.
3:09
[SPEAKER_00]: She went on to say, quote, it has been three years.
3:12
[SPEAKER_00]: To me, it seems like yesterday, I can't stop thinking about it.
3:16
[SPEAKER_00]: She was my heart, a part of me left when she left.
3:20
[SPEAKER_00]: As far as tomorrow's hunter, Shirley McNill hoped the state of Florida would try him for Teresa's murder and that he'd get the death penalty.
3:27
[SPEAKER_00]: She said, that is what he needs maybe because he's done a lot of damage to a lot of people.
3:33
[SPEAKER_00]: He did a lot of damage to me.
3:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter was eventually going to be sent back to Florida, but as we know, the wheels of justice sometimes turn painfully slow.
3:44
[SPEAKER_00]: And Hunter's case, it would take nearly a decade before he would finally be extradited to Florida to face Teresa Green's murder.
4:11
[SPEAKER_00]: In 2014, the Morris Hunter was indicted by an Orange County Grangerie for the murder of Theresa Green.
4:18
[SPEAKER_00]: The following year in February of 2015, Hunter was extradited from California to Florida to face a first-degree murder charge.
4:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Florida prosecutors announced that they intended to seek the death penalty.
4:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Trial dates were set and then postponed.
4:35
[SPEAKER_00]: WFTV9 reported that his Hunters case moved to trial he was represented by at least six different public defenders.
4:42
[SPEAKER_00]: There were other delays too.
4:45
[SPEAKER_00]: WKMG6 reported that at one point Hunters suffered a heart attack.
4:49
[SPEAKER_00]: The delays continued on and on, all the way up until 2020.
4:54
[SPEAKER_00]: and then more delays because of COVID-19.
4:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Quartz across the country struggled with massive backlogs and Orange County, Florida was no exception.
5:03
[SPEAKER_00]: But finally, nearly 24 years after Teresa Green was murdered, and the spring of 2026, the Morris Hunter stood trial for her death.
5:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Jerry's selection began on March 30, 2026.
5:17
[SPEAKER_00]: By April 6, the jury was seated and opening arguments began.
5:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The jury would not hear any evidence about Hunter's conviction in Ivory Huntley's case, or his other past criminal history, at least not in the guilt phase of trial.
5:31
[SPEAKER_00]: That evidence was considered too prejudicial.
5:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, they were there to hear the evidence surrounding one case, the murder of Teresa and Green.
5:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Chief Prosecutor Richard Buxman, an assistant
5:47
[SPEAKER_00]: They told the jury the story that began more than two decades earlier.
5:52
[SPEAKER_00]: On May 26th of 2002, 38-year-old Teresa Green and 36-year-old de Morris Hunter were both guests at a party hosted by Joseph and Joyce Butler.
6:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Teresa and the man she knew as Mike Barry had recently began dating.
6:07
[SPEAKER_00]: The two left together after an altercation and witnesses saw them
6:14
[SPEAKER_00]: That was the last time anyone ever saw Teresa Green alive, but the altercation at the party didn't begin with Hunter and Teresa.
6:22
[SPEAKER_00]: It had begun with Teresa and the party host Joseph Butler.
6:27
[SPEAKER_00]: According to witness testimony Teresa had slapped Joseph Butler.
6:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph slapped her back and the arguing continued outside in the stairwell.
6:36
[SPEAKER_00]: The party ended around 2.30 in the morning,
6:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Teresa didn't show up for work, she was reported missing, and later her old's mobile was found abandoned in a Walgreens parking lot in Sanford.
6:48
[SPEAKER_00]: When authorities opened the trunk, they found Teresa Green's body inside.
6:53
[SPEAKER_00]: She had been wrapped in a sheet in place in the trunk of her own car.
6:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Teresa Green had been strangled to death, and prosecutors had evidence they believed
7:05
[SPEAKER_00]: In the early morning hours after the party, Hunter had asked his neighbor Joseph Butler for a favor.
7:11
[SPEAKER_00]: A favor that would ultimately become one of the most important pieces of testimony in this case.
7:17
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense and its opening, however, told the jury that the Morris Hunter had nothing to do with Theresa's debt.
7:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Defense Attorney Tudorio Moreiro categorized Teresa's murder as a tragic story where alcohol played a major role in the events that unfolded, and the defense pointed the finger at Joseph Butler.
7:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, after all, he was the one who had gotten into an altercation with Teresa that night.
7:40
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense argued that Teresa had slapped Joseph, Joseph had slapped her back, and the fight continued after the party ended.
7:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense also challenged the medical examiner's
7:51
[SPEAKER_00]: They argued that there were no definitive signs of manual strangulation, and that the state couldn't even prove exactly how Teresa had died.
8:00
[SPEAKER_00]: There was one thing the defense definitely got right about that night.
8:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Alcohol had played a major role.
8:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Neighbor Joseph Butler was first to take the stand and tell the jury all about it.
8:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph Butler said that he was Theresa's neighbor.
8:15
[SPEAKER_00]: He worked at Florida Hospital like Theresa and they lived across a hall from one another.
8:20
[SPEAKER_00]: On Saturday, May 25th, Theresa Joseph and his wife Joyce were all at his apartment.
8:25
[SPEAKER_00]: They were planning a barbecue for the next day and needed to get meat for the party.
8:30
[SPEAKER_00]: So Teresa and the butlers went to the grocery store, got the meat, and when they got back at some point to Morris Hunter, who Joseph knew his mic, will at some point he came over.
8:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone was hanging out and listening to music.
8:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph told the jury that he and Teresa were drinking.
8:47
[SPEAKER_00]: His wife and demores Hunter were not.
8:50
[SPEAKER_00]: As the night war on, Joyce went to bed because she had to be up early the next morning for work.
8:55
[SPEAKER_00]: But they were too loud.
8:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Joyce came out once and told them to tone it down.
9:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Things got loud again, and that around 230 she came out and told everyone to leave because she needed to get to sleep.
9:07
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Joseph, he told Teresa to leave.
9:10
[SPEAKER_00]: She slapped him in the face and he hit her back, but said he didn't hit her heart.
9:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter and Teresa left the apartment and were arguing in the hallway at the stairwell.
9:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Teresa was saying to Hunter, why did you let Joe slap me like that?
9:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And Hunter was telling Teresa that Joe hadn't really hit her all that hard.
9:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter was standing on the top stairs a two argued back and forth.
9:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Then, according to Joseph Butler, Teresa went to kick Hunter.
9:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter grabbed her foot and they both tumble to the bottom of the stairs.
9:40
[SPEAKER_00]: After the fall, the two of them got up and appeared to be fine with no serious injuries.
9:46
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Joseph Butler, he went back into his apartment and Hunter and Teresa went into hers.
9:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And that should have been the end of the night, but it wasn't.
9:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph told the jury that he went to sleep only to be repeatedly woken up by Hunter.
10:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter kept coming to his apartment asking Joseph to follow him so he could drop off Teresa's car at a car a lot.
10:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Eventually around seven that morning Hunter was standing in Joseph's bedroom asking him to come follow him.
10:14
[SPEAKER_00]: This time Joseph agreed.
10:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter drove Teresa's old's mobile.
10:18
[SPEAKER_00]: At first Joseph thought Teresa was with him.
10:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph followed Hunter in a white van that belonged to another neighbor Henry Fields.
10:26
[SPEAKER_00]: But they didn't end up at a car lot.
10:28
[SPEAKER_00]: They went to a Walgreens in Sanford.
10:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter Park Teresa's old mobile, and when he got into the van with Joseph, he made a statement that was, well, concerning at the very least.
10:40
[SPEAKER_07]: So what happens when you and the defendant arrive at Walgreens?
10:45
[SPEAKER_06]: Well, when I'm moving now, I'm moving.
10:50
[SPEAKER_06]: You pulled through the middle of the Saturday building.
10:54
[SPEAKER_06]: And I've been inside the store to get it out of the cell so because I had a thing of it.
10:59
[SPEAKER_06]: To get out the cell, sir, at the rear hangover, okay.
11:01
[SPEAKER_06]: And forgot the wallet that you couldn't get it.
11:04
[SPEAKER_06]: So I had to come back from sitting in the van and sitting in the van.
11:07
[SPEAKER_06]: He stayed in the car for a while.
11:09
[SPEAKER_06]: I don't know what he was doing, but he was there not doing something.
11:12
[SPEAKER_06]: I don't know what it was.
11:13
[SPEAKER_06]: Okay.
11:14
[SPEAKER_06]: And I just said that, waited.
11:17
[SPEAKER_06]: Then he comes back.
11:19
[SPEAKER_06]: Then he said he messed up.
11:21
[SPEAKER_06]: I told him, I don't want to hear it just to be back on the whole thing.
11:24
[SPEAKER_07]: When you back up, when you said you waited in the van?
11:27
[SPEAKER_06]: Yes.
11:28
[SPEAKER_07]: When the decision got back to the van, where did he sit?
11:31
[SPEAKER_07]: Driver surpasses the receipt.
11:32
[SPEAKER_06]: You got to do it.
11:35
[SPEAKER_06]: The van proves he was in a professional suit and he drove.
11:38
[SPEAKER_06]: OK.
11:39
[SPEAKER_07]: So who drove the van back to the apartment complex?
11:42
[SPEAKER_07]: If you did.
11:43
[SPEAKER_07]: OK. Let's go.
11:46
[SPEAKER_07]: Wild.
11:48
[SPEAKER_07]: After we got into the van, we love you.
11:51
[SPEAKER_07]: You mentioned he said something, what did he say to you?
11:54
[SPEAKER_06]: You said a messed up.
11:55
[SPEAKER_06]: The messed up.
11:56
[SPEAKER_06]: I said, I don't know why he had made a messed up and we overheard you got me in this mess.
12:02
[SPEAKER_06]: Did he give you any more details as far as what he meant by that?
12:04
[SPEAKER_06]: I don't know.
12:05
[SPEAKER_06]: I didn't even want to know what he was talking about.
12:07
[SPEAKER_06]: I was trying to put us on the wet wrong with him and her.
12:12
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you find it unusual that he asked you to follow him and Theresa somewhere or fall into Reese's car but then left the car at Walgreens?
12:20
[SPEAKER_06]: Yes.
12:20
[SPEAKER_06]: F-I-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-
12:42
[SPEAKER_07]: interaction with the defendant that one did you see any obvious injuries on him?
12:47
[SPEAKER_06]: Well, I see no doubt read this on his face like but other than that, I didn't see no one.
12:55
[SPEAKER_07]: Any blood, any torn clothing?
12:58
[SPEAKER_07]: I'm sure not.
13:03
[SPEAKER_07]: Once you guys arrive back at your apartment complex, what happens?
13:06
[SPEAKER_07]: What do you do?
13:08
[SPEAKER_07]: I turned him on going back to be good.
13:10
[SPEAKER_07]: Okay.
13:11
[SPEAKER_07]: Do you know where he went?
13:12
[SPEAKER_07]: I don't know.
13:13
[SPEAKER_07]: Go ahead.
13:14
[SPEAKER_07]: I will go.
13:14
[SPEAKER_07]: Go ahead.
13:17
[SPEAKER_07]: From the point that you left him at that apartment complex that morning after dropping to a recent car off of Walgreens to today, have you seen him?
13:26
[SPEAKER_07]: Let's see, dude.
13:27
[SPEAKER_07]: Good.
13:31
[SPEAKER_07]: The next day, I believe it's Monday, the 27th, did you make contact with to a recent Green Sun Octavius?
13:38
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes.
13:40
[SPEAKER_07]: Did he ask anything?
13:41
[SPEAKER_07]: What do you ask him?
13:42
[SPEAKER_06]: He has been able to see in his mom.
13:45
[SPEAKER_06]: And now until the way I'm seen was his, I was Saturday.
13:48
[SPEAKER_06]: I guess?
13:49
[SPEAKER_06]: Since when I was talking to Saturday, I think that's a little bit of Saturday.
13:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm messed up.
13:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, after that statement was made by Demora's hunter, it's difficult to understand why Joseph Butler didn't go immediately to police.
14:03
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew Teresa, she was reportedly his friend, and now a man he had only known for about three weeks had asked him to follow him while he drove Teresa's car to a random Walgreens after an altercation in the stairwell, and then he said he messed up.
14:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph admitted on the stand that he was concerned something had happened, but he didn't call authorities, and incredibly he didn't tell Theresa's son Octavius when he came looking for his mom.
14:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Joseph Butler didn't tell anyone until he was contacted by police.
14:34
[SPEAKER_00]: But when he was, he did cooperate.
14:37
[SPEAKER_00]: He allowed law enforcement to enter his apartment and provided a photo of the man he knew as Mike, the man he had last new Teresa Green to have been wet.
14:46
[SPEAKER_00]: On cross, the defense highlighted the fact that Joseph had initially been forthcoming with Teresa's family about what he knew.
14:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And through questioning, it was apparent that his memory about the details of that night were spotty at best.
14:59
[SPEAKER_00]: But there were two things he
15:02
[SPEAKER_00]: He had not seen Teresa Green after she tumbled down the stairwell with the Morris Hunter.
15:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And he had not seen Hunter again after the two had returned to the apartment, following the trip to Walgreens, those two things Joseph seemed sure of.
15:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Joe's wife Joyce Butler also took the stand.
15:20
[SPEAKER_00]: She told the jury that she had witnessed the slaps between her husband and Teresa, but Joyce described them differently than Joe had.
15:27
[SPEAKER_00]: She told the jury that when her husband had slapped Theresa back, Theresa had a bloody nose.
15:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Joyce also recalled Hunter coming over several times that morning trying to get her husband to help him drop off the car.
15:40
[SPEAKER_00]: And she said that when Joseph returned, he told her that Mike, aka de Morris Hunter, had told him that he, quote, messed up, and that Joe said he thought something had happened to Theresa.
15:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Joyce testified that she told Joe she didn't want to hear anything about it.
15:56
[SPEAKER_00]: She admitted on the stand that she had initially lied to police about Joseph following Hunter in the van that morning because she didn't want her husband to get into trouble.
16:05
[SPEAKER_00]: And on Cross, she claimed that over all the years, she and Joe never discussed what had happened that morning.
16:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Joyce Butler's daughter, Lisa Moore, was also at the gathering later that night.
16:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Lisa had witnessed a slap in the fall down the stairs.
16:20
[SPEAKER_00]: She told the jury that some time after the fall she heard loud voices coming from Teresa Green's apartment.
16:26
[SPEAKER_00]: You see, that night her at the time six-year-old son was with her and her mom and stepfather's apartment.
16:32
[SPEAKER_00]: After all the commotion, Lisa took her son down to her car.
16:36
[SPEAKER_00]: According to her testimony, she came back upstairs to use the phone to call her brother to have him come by their mother's apartment to check on her.
16:43
[SPEAKER_00]: She said that she wanted her brother to check on their mom because Joseph Butler had been upset.
16:49
[SPEAKER_00]: But Joseph wouldn't let her back in the apartment.
16:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So Lisa went to Teresa's door and knocked, hoping to use her phone.
16:57
[SPEAKER_00]: But Teresa was not the person who answered the door.
17:02
[SPEAKER_07]: After you try to get into the apartment to use the phone, did you not on Teresa Greenswood?
17:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
17:07
[SPEAKER_01]: What happened?
17:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Mr. Hunter came to the door.
17:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd ask, could I use the phone?
17:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And suggest that I didn't come in, I guess, because she was calming down.
17:22
[SPEAKER_07]: That's what the defendant told you?
17:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Correct.
17:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Something to that extent, again, it's been years.
17:28
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you see Ms. Green anywhere at that point?
17:31
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
17:31
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you ever reable the bill inside the apartment?
17:34
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
17:35
[SPEAKER_07]: It's kind of like open the door and just talk you through the doorway.
17:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
17:38
[SPEAKER_07]: I understand.
17:40
[SPEAKER_07]: So once the defendant told you it was best for you not to come into that apartment, what did you do?
17:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I think I believe I probably went back down stairs or maybe attempted to go back to my mother's apartment.
17:54
[SPEAKER_07]: You have been able to go back into your mother's apartment.
17:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't recall.
18:00
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you ever go back and knock on the screen's door a second time?
18:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
18:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't get an answer.
18:08
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you hear anything from inside the apartment at that point?
18:11
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
18:14
[SPEAKER_07]: Do you remember about what time Sunday morning you finally would have left with your son?
18:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I do not.
18:21
[SPEAKER_07]: Is it really morning hours?
18:22
[SPEAKER_07]: Was it dark out still?
18:24
[SPEAKER_01]: It was still dark out.
18:27
[SPEAKER_07]: Was that night the last time you ever saw Teresa Green?
18:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
18:31
[SPEAKER_07]: Did you ever see the defendant again after that night?
18:35
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
18:36
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Lisa, Hunter told her that it was best she not come into Teresa's apartment.
18:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And that night in the stairwell was the last time Lisa Moore ever saw Teresa Green.
18:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came Teresa's son, Octavius Hayes.
18:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Octavius was just 13 years old when his mother was murdered.
18:57
[SPEAKER_00]: He told the jury that he wasn't home that night.
18:59
[SPEAKER_00]: It was Memorial Day weekend and he had been out with friends.
19:03
[SPEAKER_00]: But when he got home and saw holes in the wall and his mom's purse dumped out on the bed, he knew something horrible had happened.
19:11
[SPEAKER_04]: In 2002, how old were you, sir?
19:13
[SPEAKER_03]: 13.
19:15
[SPEAKER_04]: Middle school.
19:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, eighth grade.
19:20
[SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
19:20
[SPEAKER_04]: Now, let's go back and look, think about.
19:26
[SPEAKER_04]: Memorial Day weekend 2002.
19:31
[SPEAKER_04]: What did you do that weekend?
19:34
[SPEAKER_03]: I went over to some friends house.
19:36
[SPEAKER_03]: I was over there for a few days.
19:38
[SPEAKER_04]: So you spent the night with friends another week?
19:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
19:42
[SPEAKER_04]: And on Memorial Day, which would have been Monday, May 20, 7th, did you return to your and your mom's residence at Bayrunner Park?
19:52
[SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
19:53
[SPEAKER_04]: What did you find when you arrived?
19:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, for starters, there were holes in the wall.
20:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Our personal scatter over the bed.
20:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Basically, I need something to happen.
20:06
[SPEAKER_00]: At just 13 years old, Octavius walked into the apartment and knew immediately that something had happened to his mother.
20:15
[SPEAKER_00]: The witnesses weren't the only people to reconstruct what happened that night for the jury.
20:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Police officers, firefighters, and forensic experts took the stand.
20:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Walking the jury through everything, from the initial missing person's investigation to the moment Teresa's body was discovered in that Walgreens parking lot.
20:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Orlando Police Detective Roy Philipucci described the damage to the wall and Teresa Green's apartment, the empty purse on the bed, and how they had located Teresa's gold watch on the sink at the bathroom, the watch had been damaged.
20:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came the investigation that followed Hunter out of Florida.
20:56
[SPEAKER_00]: The van had been located on July 30, 2022.
21:00
[SPEAKER_00]: It was on an isolated road in between two fields in Houston, Texas.
21:05
[SPEAKER_00]: It had been completely burned.
21:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Investigators found evidence that trash, lumber, and a mattress have been burned inside the back of the van.
21:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Terry Cool was able to determine that the fire had been intentionally set.
21:18
[SPEAKER_00]: The gas cap was missing and debris was found in the filler tube, which is the tube that connects the external gas cap door to the main fuel tank.
21:26
[SPEAKER_00]: It looked as if something had been shoved into the tube and lit on fire.
21:31
[SPEAKER_00]: The van's VIN number had also been destroyed.
21:34
[SPEAKER_00]: However, investigators were able to locate the confidential VIN.
21:39
[SPEAKER_00]: The confidential VIN is physically stamped or engraved directly onto a vehicle's frame or body in a hard-to-reach location which is known primarily to manufacture and law enforcement.
21:50
[SPEAKER_00]: using that vent investigators were able to determine that the van had been stolen.
21:55
[SPEAKER_00]: That van actually belonged to another one of Hunter's neighbors, Henry Fields.
22:00
[SPEAKER_00]: And while we're on the subject of Henry Fields, here's a real interesting fact that wasn't included at trial.
22:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Court TV reported that when officers interviewed fields after his van was stolen, he told them that Hunter had recently traveled to the area from Oakland.
22:15
[SPEAKER_00]: and that Hunter had told him that he committed a murder in California before coming to Orlando.
22:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, that was the murder of Ivory Huntley.
22:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Back to the trial.
22:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Houston Police Officer Monroe Gage took the stand.
22:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Gage was a canine officer that assisted a nearest of Demortz Hunter.
22:35
[SPEAKER_00]: He told the jury that the burned van was found six to seven miles away from where Demortz Hunter was ultimately captured at a
22:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Officer Gage recounted how a member of the team called Hunter on the phone and told him to come out the house through the front door.
22:50
[SPEAKER_00]: But Hunter tried to sneak out the back.
22:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Gage and his canine partner Falco pursued Hunter and ultimately he surrendered.
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came the forensic evidence.
23:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA Analyst Kirsten Kevin testified that DNA found on Teresa's gold watch inside her apartment was a partial match to the Morris Hunter.
23:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Teresa Green's blood was also found inside her apartment and on the sun visor of her old mobile.
23:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Oach took the stand and told the jury that there was a parent trauma and injury consistent with strangulation.
23:25
[SPEAKER_00]: He had ruled Theresa's manner of death as homicide and her cause of death as manual strangulation.
23:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And with that, the state rested.
23:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Now it was time for the defense.
23:57
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense called just one witness.
23:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Their lone witness was forensic pathologist Dr. Jonathan Arden.
24:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Arden disagreed with the state's medical conclusion.
24:07
[SPEAKER_00]: He testified that he didn't believe there was enough evidence to prove strangulation to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
24:14
[SPEAKER_00]: His opinion was that Teresa's death should have been classified as undetermined.
24:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And with that, the defense rested.
24:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The state called No Rebuttal Witnesses.
24:25
[SPEAKER_00]: It was time for the attorneys to make their final arguments.
24:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's Chief Prosecutor Richard Buxman delivering his final statement to the jury.
24:51
[SPEAKER_07]: and she was a friend of those who knew Uber and life, like the others.
24:56
[SPEAKER_07]: She worked at the Florida Hospital in the labor and delivery department.
25:01
[SPEAKER_07]: The Department of the Hospital, that's meant to bring newborns into this world and they helped mothers care to be able to life them.
25:09
[SPEAKER_07]: That's what Ms. Green did for this man right here, strangled the life out of her.
25:16
[SPEAKER_07]: This is Teresa Green and Death.
25:19
[SPEAKER_07]: After that man strangled her, wrapped her body in a sheet, threw her body in the trunk of her own car like a piece of trash.
25:27
[SPEAKER_07]: Left that car at Walgreens, fled the state to try to escape the crime he just committed.
25:34
[SPEAKER_07]: That's why we're here at Ladies and Gentlemen, and that's why the defendant is charged with first-degree pre-meditated murder.
25:39
[SPEAKER_00]: The prosecutor then walked the jury back through the timeline and evidence step by step.
25:45
[SPEAKER_00]: He laid it all out.
25:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Demoris Hunter was Mike Barry.
25:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Hunter was dating Teresa.
25:51
[SPEAKER_00]: He was the last person to see her alive.
25:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And according to all the witness testimony, he was the one who ditched her car at the Walgreens with Teresa's body in the trunk.
26:00
[SPEAKER_00]: His DNA was found on Teresa's watch which was broken and lying on the sink.
26:06
[SPEAKER_00]: There was evidence of a struggle inside the apartment, and after the murder, the Morris Hunter stole Henry Field's van and went on the run.
26:13
[SPEAKER_00]: All the evidence pointed to no one other than the Morris Hunter.
26:18
[SPEAKER_00]: That is, unless you ask a defense, and his closed defense attorney Morero pointed the finger at the butlers, and in a way, the victim herself.
26:27
[SPEAKER_05]: I think it's really important to look at the testimony of these witnesses.
26:35
[SPEAKER_05]: because I would suggest to you that the state's case stands or falls on the credibility of Joseph Butler, Joyce Butler, and Lisa Miller.
26:49
[SPEAKER_05]: If you find these people to be 100% credible, and I suggest to you that it is impossible for you to do so, you could convict Mr. Hunter.
27:01
[SPEAKER_05]: But I'm telling you that their testimony is not credible, and it's not supported by the evidence.
27:12
[SPEAKER_05]: Joseph Butler took the stand and he's an elderly gentleman.
27:23
[SPEAKER_05]: He told you about his apartment complex, which of course is indisputable.
27:32
[SPEAKER_05]: He knew Teresa Greene as a neighbor.
27:36
[SPEAKER_05]: From the stand, he said that he knew her for three months.
27:41
[SPEAKER_05]: Previously, he had testified that he knew her for over two years.
27:48
[SPEAKER_05]: With you, we didn't have much to say about Joyce.
27:52
[SPEAKER_05]: We didn't much seem connected to her in any real name.
28:04
[SPEAKER_05]: over two years.
28:06
[SPEAKER_05]: Didn't say anything about his relationship with her, didn't really say anything nice about her or bad, just she was my name, period.
28:17
[SPEAKER_05]: It doesn't appear as though Mr. Butler bothered to read the statements he had given to law enforcement or read the
28:34
[SPEAKER_05]: years ago.
28:36
[SPEAKER_05]: He took the stand and he said, oh, my memory is clear.
28:41
[SPEAKER_05]: I remember everything better now than I did back then.
28:44
[SPEAKER_05]: I am quite certain that he had those transfers in his possession and he just couldn't be bothered to read that.
28:57
[SPEAKER_05]: I suggested you that he really
29:04
[SPEAKER_05]: He certainly didn't care about being here.
29:09
[SPEAKER_05]: He made it very clear to all of you that the reason he didn't ever call the police for this whole thing was because he didn't want to hand up on this witness hand.
29:20
[SPEAKER_05]: He claims that he knew Mike, who was of course the Morris Hunter, that he knew him for about three weeks.
29:33
[SPEAKER_05]: And I would suggest to you that given the fact that you didn't really stay anything about his relationship with Mr. Hunter, either really or bad, that you really didn't have much of a relationship with Mr. Hunter at all.
29:47
[SPEAKER_05]: I respectfully disagree with Mr. Bucksman's portrayal of them as being friends.
29:54
[SPEAKER_05]: Apparently, they were going to have a barbecue, I don't know if that's true, you don't know if that's true.
30:01
[SPEAKER_05]: But that's what he says, and they went to publics with Mr. Hunter about to be by the time he got back, so the reason to read was well-junked.
30:12
[SPEAKER_05]: It sounded like, and I asked all of you to rely on your own recollection of the fact.
30:19
[SPEAKER_05]: It sounded like that probably happened in the early evening of the Saturday, May 26, 2002.
30:29
[SPEAKER_05]: when this is all the list of how it is.
30:33
[SPEAKER_05]: It's probably true that Teresa Green was drinking a lot and that she probably was pretty drunk.
30:40
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense went on to call the Butler's testimony and to question as well as Lisa Morris.
30:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Mariah repeatedly returned to how much alcohol Theresa had consumed that night.
30:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Rather than focusing on the actions of his client, the defense attempted to shift the jury's attention toward the people who were at the party, and what they did or didn't do after Theresa disappeared.
31:10
[SPEAKER_05]: Sunday morning.
31:12
[SPEAKER_05]: When he got back to his apartment, with a concern about what might have happened to Theresa Green, if he had called the police dead, the police, mine had met Mr. Hunted and his apartment has been moved out.
31:33
[SPEAKER_05]: What we would know, for a fact that Mr. Hunter had left
31:39
[SPEAKER_05]: The fact is he didn't call it this, and when he got back and told his wife about what it happened and what Mr. Hunter allegedly had said, I messed up.
31:50
[SPEAKER_05]: The two of them apparently sealed a pact between the two of them never to speak to this about this two aim.
32:10
[SPEAKER_05]: What do you mean to resell wasn't there?
32:12
[SPEAKER_05]: Where is she?
32:14
[SPEAKER_05]: Right?
32:14
[SPEAKER_05]: This is her neighbor.
32:17
[SPEAKER_05]: Here's what it would have taken for them to find out if Teresa was there.
32:31
[SPEAKER_05]: Not just not a sin disorder, but effort on their part.
32:39
[SPEAKER_05]: to see if Jesus was okay or to warn anyone that there may be a killer who is not a Centella for why is that why is that I suggest you to zone it too possible is you don't want Joseph and Joyce lover are two of the most
33:08
[SPEAKER_05]: calist in different human beings who ever met in your entire life, and didn't give a damn victory to us.
33:17
[SPEAKER_05]: In fact, they had something to do with it.
33:24
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense ended their closing arguments back at their expert witnesses testimony, claiming that the state hadn't even proved that Theresa Green had been murdered.
33:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And with that, the case was in the hands of the jury.
33:56
[SPEAKER_00]: After nearly 24 years of waiting, it only took the jury about 7 hours to reach a verdict.
34:02
[SPEAKER_00]: On April 8th, 2026, Demoris Hunter was found guilty of first-degree murder.
34:08
[SPEAKER_00]: But the trial was in over because remember, this was a capital case.
34:13
[SPEAKER_00]: The next phase would determine whether Hunter would spend the rest of his life in prison or be sentenced to death.
34:19
[SPEAKER_00]: At Sentencing Hunter's prior criminal history was finally introduced to the jury.
34:24
[SPEAKER_00]: The jury learned about the 1985 murders of Caesar Guzman and Eric Wright, the shooting of Adolfus Williams, and the 2002 murder of Ivory Huntley.
34:33
[SPEAKER_00]: They also heard from Teresa's son, Octavius Hayes.
34:37
[SPEAKER_00]: A victim and sex statement from Octavius was read, it said in part.
34:42
[SPEAKER_00]: At only 13 years old, I was robbed of my mother's presence, her support and her irreplaceable love.
34:48
[SPEAKER_00]: While other children were leaning on their mothers for guidance, I was forced to navigate the most formative years of my life in the shadow of her absence.
34:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Every milestone I have reached since then has been bitter sweet, marked by the hollowed space where she should have been standing.
35:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Demores Hunter had taken so much from so many people.
35:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Incredibly, he still had people willing to take the stand and ask the jury to spare his life.
35:14
[SPEAKER_00]: His cousin, a former classmate, a friend and his daughter all described a different side of Hunter.
35:20
[SPEAKER_00]: They said he was nice and funny, and that they'd never seen him behave aggressively.
35:25
[SPEAKER_00]: But their police didn't know anything to persuade the jury.
35:29
[SPEAKER_00]: On April 14th, 2026, the jury returned to unanimous recommendation of death.
35:35
[SPEAKER_00]: State Attorney Bill Gladson stated, I see no other punishment fitting for this defendant who ruthlessly took the life of Teresa Green.
35:44
[SPEAKER_00]: An August of 2026, Judge Alisa T. Munyan made it official.
35:51
[SPEAKER_02]: As to count one of the indictment per first degree murder of Theresa Ann Green, the court has carefully considered all of the evidence presented during the guilt phase, the penalty phase, the spencer hearing, and the sentencing memoranda submitted by the state and by the defendant.
36:10
[SPEAKER_02]: The court has independently considered and weighed each aggravating factor found unanimously to exist by the jury.
36:19
[SPEAKER_02]: as well as each of the seven mitigating circumstances argued by the defense to decide the appropriate sentence and light of the evidence.
36:29
[SPEAKER_02]: The court has considered and given great weight to the unanimous jury recommendation of death.
36:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Having considered and weighed the existing aggravators and mitigators in a qualitative and not quantitative manner and being mindful that a human life is at state.
36:48
[SPEAKER_02]: The court finds that there are sufficient aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty, and that the aggravating factors far outweigh the mitigating circumstances, and support the recommendation of the jury for a sentence of death.
37:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Demores anti-anti-hunter, you have not only forfeited your right to dwell among us as a pre-man, but by your actions and under the law of the state of Florida,
37:16
[SPEAKER_02]: you have forfeited your right to live as well.
37:20
[SPEAKER_02]: The court concludes that death, as recommended by the jury, is the appropriate sentence in this case.
37:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Therefore, tomorrow's Andy Hunter having previously been adjudicated guilty of the first degree murder of Theresa Ann Green, a hereby sentence due to death.
37:38
[SPEAKER_02]: It is the order of this court that you, tomorrow's Andy Hunter, being incarcerated within the appropriate facility
37:46
[SPEAKER_02]: and there to be kept in close confinement until the date your execution is set.
37:52
[SPEAKER_02]: That on the date of your execution, you shall be taken to the jet chamber and you shall be put to debt and a manner prescribed by law.
37:59
[SPEAKER_02]: This sentence is subject to automatic review by the Florida Supreme Court, and you have the right to have an attorney represent you.
38:08
[SPEAKER_02]: in preparing, filing, and arguing that appeal.
38:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I have appointed the public defender to represent you on that appeal.
38:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Mr. Hunter, may God have mercy on your soul.
38:23
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Florida Department of Corrections Records, the Morris Hunter is now in state custody on Florida's death row awaiting his execution date.
38:32
[SPEAKER_00]: For those who knew when love sees our Goosmen, Eric Wright, Adolfus Williams, Ivery Huntley, and Teresa Ann Green, that day can't come soon enough.
38:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And that my friends is all I've got for this week.
38:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to join me next Thursday for an all new episode.
38:48
[SPEAKER_00]: In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram at least under score of these, or my Facebook at least of these podcasts.
38:54
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38:57
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39:02
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39:09
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39:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening.
39:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for caring.
39:16
[SPEAKER_00]: If you know something, say something.
39:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And until next time, be good to each other.
40:07
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, my home state of Florida gets a lot of flag with the Florida man's stories or the fact that it's like 17 million degrees year round or for whatever reason.
40:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure you can fill one in.
40:18
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like everybody's always picking on little old Florida.
40:21
[SPEAKER_00]: But when it comes to crime and punishment, we're right up there ranking among the states with the harshest punishments and longest average prison sentences for violent criminals.
40:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And I got to say, that warms my little heart.
40:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all better behave when you get down here, you know what they say.
40:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Come on vacation, leave on probation.
40:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't do that.
40:41
[SPEAKER_00]: On a serious note, it was beyond time for the Morris Hunter to be locked up with no chance of ever getting out to hurt another innocent person again.
40:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, it'll be on death row for a while.
40:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Too long if you ask me, but his day is coming, and I have to imagine for the people he's hurt, it really can't come soon enough.
40:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just got one more thing to say.
41:01
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense sure did make a big deal out of the fact that Teresa Green was drinking that night, and that Hunter was reportedly sober, like that in some way justified what happened to her.
41:11
[SPEAKER_00]: First off, it didn't.
41:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Full stop.
41:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even think that needs to be explained.
41:16
[SPEAKER_00]: But also, if Teresa had been drinking and was acting out of character, and Hunter was stone cold sober to meet that makes it worse for him.
41:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Her decisions were impaired, but his were not.
41:28
[SPEAKER_00]: So his faculties were completely together, and he still made the choice he made.
41:33
[SPEAKER_00]: He could have just took his ass home to his own apartment, but he made the conscious decision to follow her to hers, and the conscious decision to strangle her to death.
41:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Yep, he's exactly where he belongs.
41:46
[SPEAKER_00]: He should have been put there a long, long time ago.
41:54
[SPEAKER_00]: y'all know I love you more in my luggage and I can't wait to talk it to you next week.
41:57
[SPEAKER_00]: But until then, bye, both of them!