The slaying followed an escalating feud that began with mundane complaints about noise and trash and ended with a barrage of gunfire.
Javon Prather , who lived in the house on the right, was shot and killed by his next-door neighbor, Michael Hetle , who lived in the house on the left. Prather ’s wife Janelle had put balloons on their stairway after the killing to memorialize his death.
Hetle, then a NASA executive, fired blast after blast at Prather one afternoon in March 2020 as horrified residents of their Springfield block and the victim’s wife looked on. The men had fought earlier in the day. The killing was captured by Ring video, which prosecutors played repeatedly for the jury during the course of the trial. At one point, a relative of Prather’s began sobbing uncontrollably and collapsed to her knees as the harrowing clip ran, prompting a court recess.
The path that led to the deadly confrontation began roughly three years earlier with the type of quotidian dispute common among neighbors. In 2017, Hetle said, Prather asked to use Hetle’s hose to wash off his car. Hetle testified that he refused but later heard the water running and caught Prather using it.
Janelle Prather did not testify at the trial, but she said in a previous interview with The Washington Post that she and her husband would have avoided Hetle if they had known about his history.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Former South Africa president Zuma is expelled by his former ANC party after forming a challengerFormer South African president Jacob Zuma has been expelled by his former African National Congress party after he formed a new political party that contested the country’s recent elections. Zuma’s MK Party received nearly 15% of the national vote and became the third largest party in the country.
Read more »
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle endorse Kamala Harris for presidentObama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to back Harris.
Read more »
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle endorse Kamala Harris for presidentObama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to back Harris.
Read more »
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle endorse Kamala Harris for presidentObama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to back Harris.
Read more »
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle endorse Kamala Harris for presidentObama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to back Harris.
Read more »
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle endorse Kamala Harris for presidentObama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to back Harris.
Read more »