GUILTY FL - Savannah Gold, 21, Jacksonville, 2 Aug 2017

[margarita25]

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[dixiegirl1035]

I don't know if I have seen this mentioned before. We learned way back that the body was found in the lake off Halifax Road where he used to live growing up. Moo


I had not realized that his long-term girlfriend also lived on that road where the body was found! Moo


Savannah Gold murder suspect showed 'remorse' during calls from jail, ex-girlfriend says

Rodarte’s ex-girlfriend said she got a call from him Saturday night.

I spoke with Lee Rodarte's ex. She says he called her from jail but can't talk about what happened @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/hiNwW38U3O

— Danielle Avitable (@DanielleANjax) August 8, 2017
"It just shocked me with this because the Lee I know would never, could never do anything like this," she said.

She said she and Rodarte dated for 11 years and he was never violent toward her.

They grew up across the street from each other and still talked everyone once in a while despite breaking up two years ago, she said.

She said Rodarte has called her several times since Saturday.

ETA, he was arrested on Saturday night, August 5th 2017. This article was 3 days later.

 

[Niner]

Monday, July 22nd:
*Pretrial Hearing (@ 9am ET) - FL - Savannah Page Gold (21) (Aug. 2, 2017, Jacksonville) - *Lee Rodarte, Jr. (28) arrested (8/6/17), indicted (8/25/17) & charged (5/15/19) with 2nd degree murder with weapon, tampering with evidence & abuse of a human body; confessed, but plead not guilty. Bond was at $500K, but on 1/31/18 ordered to be held with no bond. Remains in Duval County jail without bond.
Trial starts 8/26/19 with jury selection.
7/3/18 Update: Defense files Motion for Continuance, granted. Strike dates 10/23 & 10/29. Moved to October, with no set date. Next pretrial hearing on 8/29/18. 8/29/18: Pretrial cancelled re-scheduled for 8/30. Had pretrial hearings on 11/8 & 1/15/19.
8/30/18 Update: Final pretrial on 2/19/19 & jury selection on 2/25/19. 2/5/19: Motion for continuance granted. Strike dates 2/19 & 2/25/19. Next Pretrial hearing on 4/3. Final pretrial hearing on 5/21, trial will now start 6/3/19 with jury selection.
5/15/19 Update: Amended charges from 1st degree murder & tampering w/evidence to above charges. Motion for continuance-granted. Plead not guilty to all charges. Final pretrial hearing for 5/21 is cancelled & moved to 8/22. Trial now set for 8/26. Pretrial hearing added for 6/3. 6/3/19: Next Pretrial hearing on 7/22.
6/7/19 Update: Re Subpoenas: two key witnesses that cannot be located. The roommate that he lived with when the burning was done * allegedly* in his backyard fire pit, and the triangle girlfriend that he was with the night of the murder * supposedly watching a movie*?

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Said in my best Nancy Grace voice, BOMBSHELL!

Yesterday, He filed under Florida's stand your ground law! Self-defense!

And is asking for immunity and for the charges to be dismissed.

He said he strangled her in the car and broke her neck ("heard her neck pop"), but it was self-defense.

I can't figure out how to download an attached as a PDF here as some people do, so I'm going to do multiple screenshots.

He has also said that he is going to be calling two people for his defense, one is a Doctor Wiley ( forensic pathologist who does trial work
Edward Willey MD Curriculum Vitae | Edwilleymd )

and the other one is someone I've never heard of before with the initials SE.

I'm not sure I can upload 6 jpegs in one post so I may have to do a couple of posts for this.

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Hopefully, I've got everything in the right order and all the pages.


Source CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

... so, he is saying that she tried to strangle him, and therefore he tried to strangle her and in doing so, broke her neck as it is stating that he heard her neck pop.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Oops, missed last page

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[SleuthyLou]

(Expletives.) Wow. The nerve of him — and her poor family. If that was really the case he would have called the police from the parking lot instead of sending fake texts, driving her to his house, and desecrating her body like he did. The absolute nerve of him sends me over the edge for her poor family.

 

[Niner]

Re #20 on post #485 - I know this is on video - does it show the "back passenger door" open? I don't remember that part at all.... yes, I'm old...

Thanks for BOMBSHELL Nancy, err.... I mean Dixiegirl!

 

[Niner]

(Expletives.) Wow. The nerve of him — and her poor family. If that was really the case he would have called the police from the parking lot instead of sending fake texts, driving her to his house, and desecrating her body like he did. The absolute nerve of him sends me over the edge for her poor family.

Exactly!! I can't believe they filed that....

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Re #20 on post #485 - I know this is on video - does it show the "back passenger door" open? I don't remember that part at all.... yes, I'm old...

Thanks for BOMBSHELL Nancy, err.... I mean Dixiegirl!

I just watched the entire interrogation last week, and yes the door opened and closed three times according to the detective.. The investigator when he was being interviewed said such. So he is using that now to saying he was trying to push her out instead of her trying to get out.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Exactly!! I can't believe they filed that....

8/8 hearing on the motion will be interesting. I wonder if the news will cover it. I have not seen anything at all in the news about the recent happenings in the last two days.

IIRC, in Florida, it is not an affirmative defense. In other words, he doesn't have to prove self-defense, the prosecution has to prove it was not self-defense.

Someone correct me if I am wrong on that.

 

[Niner]

I just watched the entire interrogation last week, and yes the door opened and closed three times according to the detective.. The investigator when he was being interviewed said such. So he is using that now to saying he was trying to push her out instead of her trying to get out.

Okay - thanks! I believe SHE was trying to get out.... not him pushing her out.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Okay - thanks! I believe SHE was trying to get out.... not him pushing her out.

I see that he is still sticking to the story that she had just done heroin. I don't believe that it was mentioned that they found any heroin in the toxicology from her autopsy, but I don't know.

Just inflammatory lies moo.

 

[margarita25]

Thanks for the updates, dixiegirl (and Niner).

Nobody is going to believe that crap. Moo.

 

[mocity]

So irritating but not surprising. I feel for her family having to listen to a bunch of crap.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Man claims self-defense in killing of Bonefish Grill co-worker

According to the petition, "In pain and fearing imminent serious bodily harm, the defendant grabbed Ms. Gold's neck in an effort to break her grip." As they struggled, Rodarte shifted his weight and placed her in the backseat of the car, which is when he heard and felt a pop in Gold's neck.

ETA this article is allowing comments

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Former Jacksonville Bonefish Grill manager accused of killing Savannah Gold now claims self-defense

Gold’s family was incensed by this motion, telling us on Wednesday that "anything that comes out of this murderer's mouth is a lie."

 

[dixiegirl1035]

The Florida Times-Union

A Jacksonville man awaiting trial in the death of his on-again-off-again girlfriend outside the Bonefish Grill restaurant where they worked has asked the court to dismiss the murder charge under the state's Stand Your Ground law, court records obtained Wednesday show.

The law requires prosecutors to prove the defendant didn't act in self-defense. A hearing has been set for early next month.

On Aug. 5, 2017, Lee Rodarte Jr. led police to a pond where Savannah Page Gold's body had been dumped. The autopsy report says the 21-year-old was wrapped in plastic and a blanket. Duct tape was fastened around her lower legs, mid section and head. No bones were broken, but she did have multiple injuries. The report says the manner of death was homicide though could not determined a specific cause.

Rodarte, a manager at the Mandarin restaurant, was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. In May a third charge of abuse of a dead body was added. Though not specified, the charging documents say Rodarte mutilated, committed a sexual act or otherwise grossly abused Gold's deceased body.

He said she told him she had just done some heroin and wanted to sit in the back seat because she was feeling paranoid. The autopsy report does say drugs were in Gold's system.

(ETA, this is one of the more detailed reports, and that it does say that drugs were found in her system which I did not recall. Does anyone have link re drugs at autopsy?)

 

[dixiegirl1035]

So irritating but not surprising. I feel for her family having to listen to a bunch of crap.

He is reminding me of Chris Watts (and NK, sitting on hands on that comparison though but those that have been following understand)

There are so many similarities in this case MOO.

Therefore, I had this pie-in-the-sky hope that he was moving towards admitting guilt because he had it changed to second degree, Because they are not allowed to plead out a first-degree case.

But it did not happen, he went the other way.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

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Source-News4Jax YouTube

Within the report, it says that he was just under six feet and 163 lbs. She was 5 feet and 91 lbs