Jury finds Michael Renard Jackson guilty of murder

The trial of a man accused of raping and slaying a veterinary technician in Orange Park has resulted in a guilty verdict being returned late this morning in the first degree murder and sexual battery case.

The defendant, Michael Renard Jackson, is a convicted sex offender who, according to the Department of Corrections, was sentenced July 31, 1986 to serve 30 years at Florida State Prison followed by 10 years probation for the knifepoint rape of a 14-year-old girl.

Seventeen years early, on February 22, 1999, Jackson was discharged from prison and released to begin the probation portion of his sentence. Special conditions included psychosexual counseling and no contact with the victim.

Less than four months later, on June 15, 1999, Jackson was arrested by the St. Augustine Police Department for burglary and sexual battery.

On June 30, 1999, a warrant was issued for violation of probation which allowed no bond.

Jackson was found not guilty by a jury of the charge of burglary and sexual battery on March 6, 2000. Four days later, on March 10, 2000, Jackson was arrested on a violation of probation warrant after having been taken from the St. Johns County jail to the Duval County jail.

On August 31, 2000, Jackson’s probation was modified. Jackson was sentenced to 157 days in the Duval County jail with 156 days credit for time served.

For five years between December 6, 2000 and December 2005, Jackson was confined to the Jimmy Ryce Civil Commitment Center.

He was arrested, again, on September 18, 2006 in Clay County for failure to complete psychosexual treatment. Jackson discharged and court ordered probation continued on October 26, 2006.

Less than three months later, on January 22, 2007, Andrea Boyer was found raped and murdered at the Wells Road Veterinary Medical Center. On February 16, 2007, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jackson for murder; based on DNA evidence linking him to the scene.

Today, Jackson has been found guilty of first degree murder and sexual battery in the brutal death of 25-year-old Andrea Boyer. Testifying in his own defense Friday, Jackson said he and Boyer knew each other previously and were physically acquainted.

The defense claimed someone else broke into the Wells Road Veterinary Clinic where Andrea worked and killed her on January 23, 2007. Jackson’s attorney, Sean Espenship, argued that investigators did not collect evidence from the entire crime scene, and stopped after Jackson’s arrest.

This time, the state is seeking the death penalty.