The Florida man accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and a cop during a lengthy manhunt made another court appearance on Wednesday morning every bit as bizarre as his previous appearances. The purpose of this hearing was simply to arraign Loyd on multiple multiple charges related to the killing of his ex-girlfriend and her unborn child.
At previous hearings, the accused killer Markeith Loyd demanded to represent himself at trial. Like the other hearings, this one also did not go well from the start with Loyd and the judge argued about the defendant’s behavior in the courtroom. Loyd even refused to respond to questions from the judge and went on profanity laced tirades.
Loyd also threatened to bring a “claim” against the Court at one time, before he was reminded defendants cannot bring claims in this setting.
After things calmed down, Loyd was warned that by declining legal counsel, he would face an incredibly uphill battle during the guilt face of the trial.
The judge eventually made a preliminary decision that Loyd is competent to make the decision to represent himself at trial, if he choses to do so.
The judge also entered a not guilty plea on Loyd’s behalf and set the pretrial hearing in the murder case of Sade Dixon, the pregnant ex-girlfriend, on April 17. No trial date has been set for the murder of the Orlando police officer.
Loyd was reminded again at the hearing that he could face the death penalty on several of the charges against him, though prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue the ultimate punishment in the Dixon case.
Most observers expect this is not the last courtroom outburst the public will see from Loyd as his cases move to an eventual trial.
Complete video of the strange appearance is available on Facebook via WESH: