Ex-Florida captain Earl 'Tony' Joiner reaches plea deal in murder case

Former Florida football captain Earl “Tony” Joiner reached a plea deal in the murder case of his wife Heyzel Obando, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The State Attorney’s Office, along with Joiner’s attorney Donna Peterson, confirmed as much Monday but declined to share details of the agreement. The plea hearing for Joiner is set for June 5, more than seven years after Obando’s death.

Obando was shot and killed in the head on Valentines Day in 2016 in Fort Myers and passed away at the age of 26.

“Three years later, Cold Justice — a true-crime show on the TV network Oxygen — looked into the case,” Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times wrote. “Soon after, in June 2019, Joiner was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm. Authorities credited the show and its budget for helping the investigation proceed.”

As mentioned, the show was a huge help in the case.

“It’s a really tragic case to read,” Kelly Siegler, a former prosecutor who hosts Cold Justice, told WFTX, via CNN, in 2019. “When you read it, it’s just one of those cases where you think, ‘with just a little bit more effort and concentration and push, it can be cleared.’”

Joiner was arrested in June 2019, three years after Obando’s death. Facing second-degree murder charges at the time, Joiner agreed to a plea agreement this week.

“Police said then that her death was suspicious from the start, and ruled it a homicide two months after her body was found,” Brooke Baitinger and Mellissa Montoya wrote for USA Today.

Joiner was the second player on that Florida team charged with murder, following late-Florida and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in 2015.

A month after Obando’s death in 2016, Joiner was held at the Lee County Jail on a violation of probation charge. He was released from jail May 8, 2016, according to court records.

Those records revealed Joiner was previously arrested twice for beating Obando.

Joiner and Obando had two children together. Both were put into custody of Obando’s mother Isabel Martinez in 2017.

Now, Joiner entered a plea agreement in the case. The outcome remains to be seen.

Joiner played at Florida from 2004-07 as a defensive back. He finished his Florida career with 150 total tackles, 82 solo tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six interceptions.

As a member of the Class of 2004, Joiner was a four-star recruit out of Haines City (Fla.) Senior High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 41 overall prospect in the state, the No. 22 safety in the class and the No. 305 overall prospect in the class.