Man Convicted in Slaying of Redskins Star

Eric Rivera Jr. was 17 at time of burglary gone wrong
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 4, 2013 2:31 PM CST
Man Convicted in Slaying of Redskins Star
Eric Rivera Jr. is moved through the hallway to the courtroom holding room, Nov. 1, 2013, during the third day of deliberations in the Sean Taylor murder trial in Miami.   (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Walter Michot)

A South Florida jury has convicted a 23-year-old man of second-degree murder in the 2007 killing of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor during a botched home burglary. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating about 16 hours over several days in the case of Eric Rivera Jr. They also found him guilty of armed burglary. Rivera was tried as an adult, despite being just 17 at the time of the break-in, and the youngest of the men charged in the case.

Rivera told police in a videotaped confession he shot Taylor when the Pro Bowl safety confronted a group of young men who broke into his house near Miami. At trial, Rivera testified the confession was improperly coerced and insisted he never went inside. Rivera sought to blame the slaying on another would-be burglar. Four other young men were charged, with one pleading guilty. The others face trial later. (More Eric Rivera Jr. stories.)

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