ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - The distraught mother of a 17-year murder victim had to be removed from a Pinellas County courtroom Thursday after the suspect laughed at her.
"You sitting up smilin' but God's going to get you, God is going to get you," Starlett Clark shouted tearfully at the TV image of 18-year old Abrion Witcher.
"Going to get you- think it's funny....," she continued as bailiffs escorted her from the courtroom.
The scene played out at the usually routine first appearance of Witcher, who is accused of killing 17-year Gabriel Wallace during an argument December 15. The homicide was one of several involving teenagers that occurred in St. Petersburg during the final weeks of 2015.
Witcher appeared to be smiling and moved around a lot as he stood before a remote camera for his first appearance. Clark was objecting to Witcher's $100,000 bond when he laughed at her.
"He don't need a bond, he murdered my son for no damn reason," she told the judge, "He threatened to kill my son. He threatened him so many times, they did nothing about it."
Outside the courthouse, Clark told reporters, "just now in the courtroom that guy was sitting there, looked at me dead in my face on that TV and he laughed like it's really funny...This is not a joke, my son was a loveable person, he was very amenable, he was respectful, he didn't do anything to harm anybody."
St. Petersburg police say there are witnesses to Wallace's murder and Witcher was quickly identified as the suspect. He went into hiding and a Crimestoppers tip led to his arrest Wednesday at a Pinellas Park motel.