Jury selection begins in trial of man accused of killing former Lakeland commissioner, her husband
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Jury selection has begun in the trial of a man accused of killing former Lakeland City Commissioner Edie Yates Henderson and her husband David Henderson inside their Lake Morton home in November 2020.
If convicted, Marcelle Waldon will face the death penalty.
Police were called to Henderson’s home after her son said he could not reach her by phone and she missed her doctor’s appointment.
He entered the home to find the oven and gas burners turned on in the kitchen and breakfast untouched on the table.
Police said he left the home and called 911.
Henderson, 67, and her husband, David, 63, were found dead in their bedroom.
Sam Taylor, the then-chief of detectives, told reporters the couple had been stabbed to death.
Police accused Waldon of entering the their home to commit a burglary.
They said Edie was at the home while her husband was out getting breakfast.
Police say Waldon forced Henderson to write him personal checks and then killed her.
When David Henderson returned home, police said Waldon killed him and stole items from their home.
“Every single burner was on and the oven was on and all the burners were on. We think we left it that way in an attempt to burn the house down to cover up the evidence that was there,” said Taylor.
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He also stole David Henderson’s car, according to police. It was found on fire on Oregon Avenue.
Police arrested Waldon after getting a tip from someone who saw him in possession of items that were stolen from the Hendersons’ home.
“There were some items that were taken out of the home that only the person that committed the crime would know and this guy was able to describe those items that he saw our suspect in possession of,” Taylor said at a news conference in 2020.
According to the affidavit, Waldon told detectives two unknown males had offered him $300 to torch the vehicle.
“It’s just unbelievable,” former Lakeland city commissioner Phillip Walker said about the tragedy.
Walker had known Yates since junior high school, and they served on the city commissioner together for several years, starting in 2009.
“How soon would it be before we have some closure? Even her family, the family having closure,” he said Tuesday.
Jury selection is scheduled to last all week and the trial is set to begin on Monday.
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