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Thread: Joshua Young Found Not Guilty in 2011 KY Slaying of Trey Zwicker

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  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Joshua Young Found Not Guilty in 2011 KY Slaying of Trey Zwicker

    15-Year-Charged With Murder To Be Arraigned Monday

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A 15-year-old boy accused of killing his stepbrother will be arraigned in court as an adult Monday.

    Joshua Young will before a judge in connection with the death of 14-year-old Trey Zwicker.

    Developments come after a grand jury decision last Thursday, that Young should be tried as an adult despite his age.

    He is accused of killing Zwicker, who was found beaten in a ditch outside Liberty High School in May.

    Soon after, Trey's father suggested to police that they investigate Young.

    He was later charged in connection with the crime, but he was charged as a juvenile, which has kept most of the case sealed.

    An arrest citation simply states that Young beat Zwicker to death, and then disposed of the murder weapon and clothing.

    Little else is known, but that will likely change with the grand jury indictment that he be prosecuted as an adult

    For the victim's father, Terry Zwicker, it's welcome news, but the grieving continues.

    "A lot of sad days, a lot of bad days. I'm sure there are more still coming, but now, it's anger. I have a lot of anger," said Terry Zwicker.

    Zwicker is calling for the harshest punishment in his son's death.

    It's possible Young could be eligible for the death penalty, if the Commonwealth decides to pursue that option.

    In addition to murder, Young has also been charged with tampering with physical evidence.

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  2. #2
    Jan
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heidi View Post
    It's possible Young could be eligible for the death penalty, if the Commonwealth decides to pursue that option.
    Why is eligible for the DP?
    State law has a minimum age of 16. Either way he can not get the DP under 18, can he?

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jansen240 View Post
    Why is eligible for the DP?
    State law has a minimum age of 16. Either way he can not get the DP under 18, can he?
    He's not eligible, but they can charge him with capital murder. Maybe that is what they meant.

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    Teen murder defendant and father to stand trial together next month, judge rules

    Mar. 22, 2013

    A Jefferson Circuit Court judge ruled Friday that Joshua Gouker and his 17-year-old son Joshua Young will be tried together next month for the murder of Young’s teen step-brother.

    Judge Barry Willett denied a motion from defense attorneys for both Gouker and Young to try the father and son separately. And Willett also rejected a request from Gouker’s attorney, Mark Hall, to postpone the April 15 trial.

    Hall argued he needed more time to investigate evidence Young’s attorneys want to introduce at trial they say proves Gouker acted alone in bludgeoning Trey Zwicker, 14, at least 15 times with a baseball bat before leaving him to die in a creek bed behind Liberty High School on East Indian Trail in May 2011.

    Willett set a March 29 hearing date, in part to determine what evidence Young’s attorneys will be able to put on against Gouker.

    The teen’s defense wants to tell jurors that Gouker had "abnormal control" over several women who told police Young had confessed to the murder.

    They accuse him of using "threats, sexual intimidation, actual violence and other diabolical means in an attempt to totally control their lives, do his bidding and parrot Mr. Gouker's false versions of the circumstances surrounding" the crime, according to court documents.

    Hall declined to comment Friday on the evidence against Gouker or whether his client would testify.

    Attorneys for Young also did not comment.

    The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Neither defendant is facing the death penalty.

    Gouker initially told police his son admitted sneaking out with Trey and without warning struck the boy on the head with a baseball bat.

    Young, however, has blamed his father for the murder.

    Gouker has repeatedly changed his story and now says he killed Trey in a fit of anger, acting alone, and his son had nothing to do with the crime.

    Prosecutors have said they believe Gouker put his son up to the murder and helped him plan it.

    http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...th-judge-rules
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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Victim's mother testifies in Josh Young's trial



    The mother of a teenage boy who was beaten to death in May 2011 testified in a Louisville, Kentucky, courtroom Thursday about how she became suspicious that her husband killed her son.

    However, Amanda McFarland didn't offer any details about how her 17-year-old stepson, Joshua Young, may have been involved in her son Trey Zwicker's murder.

    Young is on trial for complicity to murder and tampering with evidence for his alleged role in Zwicker's death.

    McFarland's then-husband, Josh Gouker, pleaded guilty to murder, and was sentenced to life in prison July 26. Prosecutors are expected to call him to the stand Friday.

    “After Trey had died I locked his room and I took to my bedroom his pillow and some clothes that still smelled like him,” said a composed McFarland. “Josh Gouker told me not to bring my dead son to bed with me every night. So that was another extremely alarming situation that caused a lot of doubt. ”

    McFarland said was she intimate with Gouker the night Zwicker died, and that Gouker spent that night in her bed.

    “I questioned Josh Gouker once about if there was any possibility that he got out of that bad that night and not woke me up. He became extremely angry that I would doubt him,” McFarland said.

    Gouker’s anger would routinely turn into violence, according to McFarland. She said that in December 2010, she aborted Gouker’s baby after he had become violent. McFarland also said that Gouker became enraged when she confronted him about a phone conversation she'd overheard between him and his cousin Cassie Gouker. During that phone conversation, she said she heard Gouker tell his cousin that McFarland was “expendable.”

    During his opening statement, defense attorney Peter Schuler accused Josh Gouker of having a sexual affair with his cousin during his marriage to McFarland.

    Earlier Thursday, Zwicker’s uncle Jereme McFarland testified that he saw Young at Zwicker's funeral and described his behavior there as "blank, null and void." He said Young did not cry at the funeral.

    http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/08...h-youngs-trial
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    Teen murder suspect's attorney wants separate trial from father

    As a father and son inch closer to trial for the murder of a teenager, one defendant's attorneys are asking for separate trials.

    Joshua Gouker, 33, and Josh Young, 17, are accused of beating Trey Zwicker to death with a baseball bat outside Liberty High School in May 2011.

    Young's attorney, Pete Schuler, wants the cases separated.

    Schuler also said he will introduce some mental health records for his client at trial, not as part of his defense, but as a precaution.

    "We're hoping there's not a conviction, but we have to plan for a penalty phase anyway. In any juvenile case, matters concerning a juvenile's past, his mental health and all that, would be relevant at sentencing,” Schuler said.

    A judge will hear arguments about separating the trials at a hearing next month.

    Read more: http://www.wlky.com/news/local-news/...#ixzz2ILclHSOs
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    Inside the Joshua Young trial: Day 1

    Jury selection ended Monday in the first day of Joshua Young's trial.

    The 17-year-old, who wore khaki pants, a blue vest and white-collared shirt in court, is accused of being complicit to the murder of his 14-year-old stepbrother, Trey Zwicker, in May of 2011.

    Young's father, Joshua Gouker, pleaded guilty to Zwicker's murder. He was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

    Twenty-seven prospective jurors were brought up to the judge's bench Monday afternoon for individual voir dire.

    Later, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Elizabeth Jones Brown asked prospective jurors if they ever served on a jury, whether they testified in court, whether they had been victims to a crime and whether they or a close friend had ever been convicted of a crime.

    Before recessing for the day, the judge and attorneys held a suppression hearing to determine what evidence can be heard in trial. The defense wants to keep out statements Young made to police.

    Twelve jurors plus three alternates will decide Young's fate. Several jurors were dismissed Monday morning due to hardship.

    Opening statements are expected to begin later this week. Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett told potential jurors he anticipates the trial to last two weeks.

    Young is also charged with complicity to tampering with evidence. Jury selection resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

    http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/07...rters-notebook
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    Teen admitted killing his stepbrother with baseball bat, according to newly released documents

    WHAS11 is finding out more about the case against Joshua Young.

    He's the 15-year-old accused of murdering his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker and leaving his body behind Liberty High School earlier this year.

    On Thursday, 255 pages of evidence, along with witness interviews, photographs and videos were released.

    In the discovery, it indicates that Young admitted to killing Zwicker by hitting him with a baseball bat 15-30 times.

    He also allegedly disposed of the bat and the clothes he was wearing by putting them in a dumpster.

    The evidence indicated he made incriminating statements to at least six people, including his father, Josh Gouker.

    Josh Young is charged as an adult with murder, along with other charges.

    http://www.whas11.com/news/crimetrac...136377138.html

  9. #9
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    Josh Young To Appear In Court

    A 16-year-old boy accused of killing his stepbrother will appear in court Tuesday.

    A pretrial conference is scheduled for Joshua Young.

    According to police, Young beat 14-year-old Trey Zwicker to death in May 2011.

    Young's father told police his son beat Trey to death with a baseball bat because he "hated him so much."

    Zwicker's father , Terry, said he will be at Young's court appearance Tuesday.

    The penalty for Young's murder charge could range from 20 years in prison to death.

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    Read more: http://www.wlky.com/news/30339126/de...#ixzz1l3V6xKfj

  10. #10
    Ozzie
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    Whats happening with this case?

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