A man accused of killing a pregnant teenager for $600 in cash and marijuana was found not guilty on all counts Thursday.
Jarvis Tyler, acquitted in the 2005 killing of 17-year-old Stacey Seaton, walked out of a Prince George's County jail on Thursday night with a jacket pulled over his head.
When asked by News4's Shomari Stone how it felt to be free, Tyler had no comment.
Prosecutors alleged Tyler was hired by McDonald "Duce" Abraham to murder a pregnant Stacey Seaton in Bowie, Md., almost seven years ago.
Seaton died at an area hospital after being found shot June 1, 2005. Abraham testified he gave Tyler $400 and $200 worth of marijuana to kill Stacey because he believed she was involved in the theft of drugs, money and a gun from his apartment.
Almost four years later, DNA from a cigarette butt near the murder scene was linked to Tyler, according to prosecutors.
Tyler's defense argued that Abraham, who already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, was cooperating with the prosecution to get a lighter sentence. He was scheduled to be sentenced after Tyler's trial.
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According to the Prince George's State Attorney's Office, prosecutors offered Tyler's defense team a plea deal in exchange for 40 years behind bars. The defense rejected the deal.
Gale Seaton, Stacey's mother, gave News4 the following written statement after Thursday's verdict. "We feel as though Stacey has been killed again. I'm going back to 2005 all over again. Stacey was betrayed by the justice system. It's been six years and nine months."
Tyler was found not guilty of first- and second-degree murder, use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury deliberated for about three hours.
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