Man pleads not guilty in throwing of infant
TAMPA (AP) – A 21-year-old man charged with throwing his ex-girlfriend’s baby out a car on a Tampa highway has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges.
Richard Anthony McTear Jr. appeared in court Wednesday morning. Prosecutors have 45 days to decide if they will seek the death penalty.
Prosecutors say McTear threw 4-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray down on the concrete during an argument with his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend May 5.
Then, they say, he snatched up the infant and threw him out of the car on Interstate 275 north of downtown Tampa. The child’s lifeless body was found on the roadside by a passing motorist.