JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man accused of killing Kalil McCory in 2011 will be retried in May, a Duval County judge ordered Tuesday.
Frederick Wade was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a 20-year-old former Jackson High School classmate. He was sentenced to 25 years to life, but that conviction was overturned by the 1st District Court of Appeals, which cited fault jury instructions in his first trial.
Tuesday was Wade's first appearance back in a Duval County courtroom since his appeal.
According to police, Wade and three other friends were with McCoy in Wade's SUV when there was an argument. Wade was accused of pulling out a handgun and pointing it in her direction. Wade claimed that in the jostling, the gun discharged, hitting McCoy in the head.
Prosecutors said the four men dumped her body in a field. The other three in the car pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and were sentenced to prison.
McCoy's mother was in the courtroom for Tuesday's hearing, as was Ron Davis, who said he was there to support the family.
Wade's next pretrial hearing is April 1.