James Belcher is a black man who has
been on death row in the state of Florida since 05/17/01.
Crime
He was convicted of Premeditated 1st
Degree Murder Sexual battery with force or a weapon, Arson, Burglary
of an unoccupied building, 2 counts of grand theft less then 20k,
Armed Burglary, Aggravated assault with intent, and burglary of an
occupied building., committed on 01/08/96.
The evidence presented at trial indicated that some time after 10:30
p.m. on January 8, 1996, but before 9 p.m. on January 9, 1996, James
Belcher (Belcher) gained access to the victim's townhouse, where she
lived alone.
Belcher sexually battered victim Jennifer Embry (Embry) and then
killed her by placing his hands around her neck and holding her head
under water in the bathtub until she could no longer breathe. At 2
a.m. on January 9, 1996, Maxine Phillips, Embry's next door neighbor,
was awakened by loud noises, which came from the common wall she shared
with Embry. Phillips described the noises as three hard knocks, as if
someone was knocking against the wall.Medical Examiner Bonifacio Floro testified that the cause of Embry's death was both manual strangulation and drowning. White foam, a product of the mixture of air, water, and mucous in the trachea and bronchial tree, was discovered coming out of Embry's nose and mouth, which indicated to the medical examiner that she was alive and breathing when her head was submerged in the water. Linear bruising on Embry's neck and small internal hemorrhaging on her larynx and hyoid bone were consistent with her being manually strangled while she was still alive. Dr. Floro testified that Embry suffered from the following nonfatal injuries before her death: vaginal injuries consistent with forcible entry by a penis or object; a bruise above the right eyebrow; and a laceration to the right shoulder. He stated that the injuries were “fresh,” indicating that they had been inflicted within twenty-four hours of Embry's death. Dr. Floro found spermatozoa in Embry's vagina and opined that they were “fresh” due to the fact that they still had both heads and tails at the time of the autopsy. Dr. Floro stated that although he could not pinpoint the time of the placement of the sperm, he opined that the condition of the sperm indicated that they had been placed there probably during a sexual act some time between three and six days before the autopsy
Address
You can write to this inmate
at:
James Belcher 286173
Union CI
P.O. Box 1000
Raiford, Florida 32083
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