Dog park shooting victim raised concerns about suspect in video diaries, witness says

Georgia McCarthur
·2 min read
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The man accused of a deadly hate crime shooting in a Tampa dog park made his second appearance in court on Wednesday.

An arrest warrant revealed the suspect, Gerald Declan Radford, told detectives that the victim, John “Walt” Lay, had been “gaslighting” him for months. The warrant also said Lay told Radford he had been doing it on purpose just to get a reaction out of him.

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Kim Wolfley, a friend of Walt’s who frequents the park, said she witnessed Radford making derogatory marks toward the victim.

She also said the victim sent her video diaries of himself before the shooting and said Radford told him he was going to die.

While she is mourning the death of her friend, she said she is happy her testimony played a role in an arrest.

“It is very sad, It’s not the same. Walt was the glue that held our little family together and the fact that he was not here just completely devastates me,” Wolfley said.

Wolfley said spent her mornings at the dog park with Walt until last month when he was shot to death.

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“Nobody thought like, Dec [Radford] was just like a guy that had a hot temper would say stuff, I never thought he would have ever done anything like that,” Wolfley said.

Radford has been charged with second-degree murder in this case. He argues this was a case of self-defense, but prosecutors said Radford was the aggressor motivated by Lay’s sexual orientation.

“‘Walt’ would have never, just like I said, gone up to him and attack him and that it was a hate crime because for several months, you know, he was saying homophobic slurs and was trying to intimidate him,” Wolfley said.

Wolfley said Walt sent her a video on the morning he was shot and killed.

“It wasn’t until that following Monday that I had, like, seen it because I was trying to go through my texts and stuff that I was supposed to send a statement to the detective,” Wolfley said.

The video Wolfley said was a crucial factor in Radford being arrested.

Radford is due back in court Monday after making his second appearance today.

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