Death penalty trial for Fort Worth home invasion murder suspect postponed until August
A capital murder trial originally scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed a second time and is now set for Aug. 10.
Testimony in the James Earnest Floyd capital murder trial was postponed a day earlier this week due to technicalities and was scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Floyd is charged in the death of John Porter, a 69-year-old Fort Worth man who police say was beaten with a metal table and then shot in the head during a home-invasion-style robbery on March 28, 2017.
Police say Floyd, 53, of Terrell, also shot Porter’s wife, wounding her in the stomach and leaving her to die in her home, but not before getting the couple’s bank card and PIN number, then leaving in the couple’s 2008 Kia Sorento SUV. John Porter’s wife, Diane Porter, survived the shooting and later identified Floyd.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and to allow for social distancing, officials planned to allow only seven spectators inside the courtroom during the trial. This will be the first capital murder trial held in Tarrant County since the pandemic suspended in-person trials in March.
Floyd is expected to act as his own attorney and present his defense at the trial. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Floyd has also been accused of kidnapping a victim at gunpoint in the 1500 block of East Louisiana Avenue, in south Dallas, on March 26, 2017. Floyd then drove the victim to Terrell and released him, police said. The victim told detectives that he knew Floyd.
Floyd, a registered sex offender, was convicted of rape in Kaufman County in 1983 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. He was released on mandatory supervision in August 2011, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Robert Hurst said.
This story includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.
