Judge tosses murder charges against Jeffrey Young

Previous Stories:

Court Records Reveal More About Jeep Wrangler in Attorney Hit and Run Case - February 5, 2008

Court records reveals what police took from white Jeep Wrangler - February 7, 2008

10 On Your Side uncovers new information about Jeffrey Young - February 19, 2008

Court papers: State doctor found Jeffrey Young insane - April 6, 2009

Jeffrey Young's Roanoke County trial delayed - April 9 ,2009

New Jeffrey Young trial date set - April 10, 2009

Testimony begins in Jeffrey Young murder trial - June 22, 2009

Judge rules Floyd County incident can't be used in Jeffrey Young's Roanoke County trial - June 23, 2009

6:25 p.m.

Jeffrey Young's attorney, Neil Horn, has declined to comment on the case, but previous court filings point to a possible insanity defense tomorrow morning as Horn is set to present Young's side of the story.

Originally charged with first degree murder, second degree murder, and felony hit and run, the judge in the case threw out the two serious murder charges Wednesday afternoon, citing a lack of evidence presented by the commonwealth.

Prosecutors admitted they had no physical evidence or DNA linking Young's Jeep to former Roanoke lawyer Tom Farrell's body.

A school teacher found Farrell dead on Springlawn Avenue on January 28, 2008.

An avid runner, police ruled Farrell's death a hit and run.

The judge threw out the first degree murder charge. He reduced the second degree murder to a charge to involuntary manslaughter.

The felony hit and run charge was also reduced to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

Previous court filings claim part of Young's defense might be an examination by a psychiatrist from Florida.

A few days after Farrell's murder, court filings claim a state psychiatrist found Young legally insane.

It's unclear if that psychiatrist will testify at the trial.

It resumes at 8:30 am Thursday in Roanoke County circuit court.

Horn said he expects jury deliberations to also begin Thursday.

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2:28 p.m.

From Scott Leamon, at the courthouse
WSLS Reporter
sleamon@wsls.com

The judge has ended the trial for today, due to scheduling conflicts with the defense.

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2:10 p.m.

From Scott Leamon, at the courthouse
WSLS Reporter
sleamon@wsls.com

The judge has thrown out the 1st-degree and 2nd-degree murder charges against Jeffrey Young.

Now, Young is only facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.

The defense has started calling witnesses.

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12:20 p.m.

From Scott Leamon, at the courthouse
WSLS Reporter
sleamon@wsls.com

The prosecution has rested its case in the murder trial of Jeffrey Young.
Before doing so, an expert from the University of Virginia testified that Farrell's injuries were consistant with getting hit by Young's Jeep, but he says that he can't say for sure that the Jeep was the actual vehicle that killed him.
The defense is expected to make its case starting at 1:30 p.m.
Check back for regular updates on wsls.com.
We will have live reports starting tonight at 5:00 p.m.
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10:39 a.m.

From Scott Leamon, at the courthouse
WSLS Reporter
sleamon@wsls.com

Day three of the murder trial of Jeffrey Young got underway this morning with testimony from a Roanoke County Police Officer as the prosecution continued their timeline of events.
The officer testified that on February 4, 2008 she called every tow company in the Roanoke yellow pages to find a white Jeep.
Police tracked the Jeep down at Robert Young's towing.
That's when investigators took it to a police impound lot where they took pictures and tested it for DNA and blood, but found nothing.
We have a crew in court and will bring you updates throughout the day as well as live reports at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.