Jacksonville, FL — The man accused of the murder and dismemberment of a Nassau County teen more than 20 years ago could now face two trials.
Ronnie Hyde’s attorney has filed a motion to sever the murder charge he’s facing from the twelve counts of possession of child pornography that he’s also charged with.
Hyde was arrested in March for the 1994 murder of 16-year-old Fred Laster. Laster's torso was found in Lake City, but the identity of the remains weren't confirmed until February 2016. Less than a month after Hyde was arrested for murder, information was filed on the child pornography charges.
The motion says the total of thirteen counts are “improperly” charged in the same case, because they’re “not part of the same act or transaction”. The motion says the murder count stems from an incident in June 1994, while the possession of child pornography allegedly occurred in March 2017. It adds that severing the murder charge from the child porn charges is “appropriate to promote a fair determination” of innocence or guilt.
Hyde has pleaded not guilty on all of the counts. The next pretrial hearing in his case if June 19th.
