A Florida man faces the death penalty after being convicted of killing his girlfriend's baby in 2009 by throwing the three-month-old out of a moving car while speeding down a highway. Richard McTear, of Tampa, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and other charges related to the death of Emanuel Murray Jr. Prosecutors argued during the trial he killed the baby to spite his mother. McTear is believed by authorities to have taken the child on a drive after an argument with Jasmine Bedwell, 22, and tossed him out of the moving car. Blood stains were later found on McTear and in the vehicle, cops said. Just before the trial: Richard McTear, center, stands during jury selection at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, he was convicted Thursday of murder . Prosecutors claimed during the trial the killing was 'the ultimate act of revenge' against Bedwell, who had sidled up to a new man in the days before the killing, according to reports. The jury deliberated for about seven hours before handing down the guilty verdict in the murder charge and also on counts of kidnapping, battery and aggravated child abuse. A first-degree murder conviction in Florida brings a mandatory sentence of life in prison, but jurors could also recommend the death penalty. It is now known which way the jury is leaning. The guilty verdict came despite McTear's public defender arguing during the trial that there was no evidence definitively showing he had thrown the baby onto the road. 'There's no clear explanation of how that baby got to the side of that road,' Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock said in his closing argument, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He made this statement despite the child's blood having been found on both McTear and on a car seat. Jurors cried when shown pictures of the dead child, the Times reported. McTear's previous trial was declared a mistrial after Bedwell insisted the then-17-year-old man threatened to kill her son. It was not the first time she made the accusation. Getting ready: McTear's attorney is shown putting a tie on the now-convicted killer during his trial . Bedwell's claim that her 25-year-old . ex-boyfriend threatened to shoot her and her son and urinate on the . child came up originally in a 2010 trial where McTear was found not . guilty of battering her. Prior . to the commencement of that previous trial, the court ruled the phone . call with the threat should not be introduced because it was part of a . previous trial - where McTear was ultimately acquitted for assault - and . was therefore irrelevant in the murder case. But Bedwell gasped out the allegation amid tears as soon as she took the stand during the eventual mistrial. The victim: Three-month-old Emanuel Murray died after being tossed from a moving car on a busy Florida highway . 'The . jurors heard testimony they should not have heard under any . circumstances. In this court's conclusion, a mistrial is necessary,' Fuente said on Tuesday morning. 'I'll say this: I do this with extreme . reluctance. I'm not suggesting that any counsel did anything . inappropriate.' Assistant State Attorney Ron Gale had asked Bedwell about phone calls from McTear the day before Emanuel's death. Bedwell replied saying McTear had called her and 'told me that he was going to come over and shoot my baby in the face and p*** on him, in his face, and he was going to kill both of us.' Gale acknowledged Bedwell's testimony was 'clearly... a violation' of the court order but he said he had not expected her to refer to the phone call, which took place about six weeks before her son's death. However, he added that he had not specifically told her not to mention in their preparations for testimony. 'It did not come up,' Gale said. McTear's lawyers argued that there is not enough evidence to show his client is responsible for the baby's death. Prosecutors claim McTear entered Bedwell's apartment by force in May, 2009 and beat her before . throwing the baby carrier against the wall while the child was inside . it, ABC Action News reported. He then allegedly drove off with the child and threw him out onto the motorway. Devastated mother: Jasmine Bedwell, pictured center in 2009, previously said she wants McTear to face the death penalty . An off-duty TV cameraman spotted the child's body lying by the side of the motorway in Tampa. Jason Bird said he thought it was a toy doll - until he saw the baby's eyes. A huge manhunt was launched for McTear who had previous convictions for domestic violence and other violent crimes. He was found hiding at a friend's house several hours after the incident and was arrested by police. Bedwell, . who was then 17, told police her ex-boyfriend grabbed her son and threw . him down onto the pavement. He then picked him up in his carrier and raced off. Police were about to issue an Amber . Alert until the baby's body was found by the side of . I-275, the main motorway leading into Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast. TV . cameraman Bird, who was on his way to work for a local station, said: . 'Just out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw some trash on the . side of the road. But the more I thought about it, I saw eyes. 'It flipped me out, and I started shaking and said, 'It's a doll, a baby doll.' ' Police in Florida said at the time that Bedwell had previously sought a court injunction to keep McTear away from her family. Troubled history: Jasmine Bedwell (pictured left in 2009) became pregnant again after losing her son but her second child was taken away by the state in 2012 . The matter was dropped, though, after she failed to turn up for a court hearing. In 2010, Jasmine Bedwell found out she was pregnant again and gave birth to another son in September of that year. But . in January of 2012, she had her second child taken away by the . Department of Children and Families after a judge ruled the boy, A'Jon, . was in danger. Her boyfriend at the time had been convicted of cocaine and marijuana distribution and carrying a concealed weapon.
Richard McTear was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2009 death of a three-month-old baby boy .
McTear murdered the child by throwing him out of a moving car as he sped down a Florida highway .
Mother Jasmine Bedwell's testimony in previous case led to a mistrial .
McTear could get the death penalty .
A Florida man faces the death penalty after being convicted of killing his girlfriend's baby in 2009 by throwing the three-month-old out of a moving car while speeding down a highway. Richard McTear, of Tampa, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and other charges related to the death of Emanuel Murray Jr. Prosecutors argued during the trial he killed the baby to spite his mother. McTear is believed by authorities to have taken the child on a drive after an argument with Jasmine Bedwell, 22, and tossed him out of the moving car. Blood stains were later found on McTear and in the vehicle, cops said. Just before the trial: Richard McTear, center, stands during jury selection at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, he was convicted Thursday of murder . Prosecutors claimed during the trial the killing was 'the ultimate act of revenge' against Bedwell, who had sidled up to a new man in the days before the killing, according to reports. The jury deliberated for about seven hours before handing down the guilty verdict in the murder charge and also on counts of kidnapping, battery and aggravated child abuse. A first-degree murder conviction in Florida brings a mandatory sentence of life in prison, but jurors could also recommend the death penalty. It is now known which way the jury is leaning. The guilty verdict came despite McTear's public defender arguing during the trial that there was no evidence definitively showing he had thrown the baby onto the road. 'There's no clear explanation of how that baby got to the side of that road,' Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock said in his closing argument, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He made this statement despite the child's blood having been found on both McTear and on a car seat. Jurors cried when shown pictures of the dead child, the Times reported. McTear's previous trial was declared a mistrial after Bedwell insisted the then-17-year-old man threatened to kill her son. It was not the first time she made the accusation. Getting ready: McTear's attorney is shown putting a tie on the now-convicted killer during his trial . Bedwell's claim that her 25-year-old . ex-boyfriend threatened to shoot her and her son and urinate on the . child came up originally in a 2010 trial where McTear was found not . guilty of battering her. Prior . to the commencement of that previous trial, the court ruled the phone . call with the threat should not be introduced because it was part of a . previous trial - where McTear was ultimately acquitted for assault - and . was therefore irrelevant in the murder case. But Bedwell gasped out the allegation amid tears as soon as she took the stand during the eventual mistrial. The victim: Three-month-old Emanuel Murray died after being tossed from a moving car on a busy Florida highway . 'The . jurors heard testimony they should not have heard under any . circumstances. In this court's conclusion, a mistrial is necessary,' Fuente said on Tuesday morning. 'I'll say this: I do this with extreme . reluctance. I'm not suggesting that any counsel did anything . inappropriate.' Assistant State Attorney Ron Gale had asked Bedwell about phone calls from McTear the day before Emanuel's death. Bedwell replied saying McTear had called her and 'told me that he was going to come over and shoot my baby in the face and p*** on him, in his face, and he was going to kill both of us.' Gale acknowledged Bedwell's testimony was 'clearly... a violation' of the court order but he said he had not expected her to refer to the phone call, which took place about six weeks before her son's death. However, he added that he had not specifically told her not to mention in their preparations for testimony. 'It did not come up,' Gale said. McTear's lawyers argued that there is not enough evidence to show his client is responsible for the baby's death. Prosecutors claim McTear entered Bedwell's apartment by force in May, 2009 and beat her before . throwing the baby carrier against the wall while the child was inside . it, ABC Action News reported. He then allegedly drove off with the child and threw him out onto the motorway. Devastated mother: Jasmine Bedwell, pictured center in 2009, previously said she wants McTear to face the death penalty . An off-duty TV cameraman spotted the child's body lying by the side of the motorway in Tampa. Jason Bird said he thought it was a toy doll - until he saw the baby's eyes. A huge manhunt was launched for McTear who had previous convictions for domestic violence and other violent crimes. He was found hiding at a friend's house several hours after the incident and was arrested by police. Bedwell, . who was then 17, told police her ex-boyfriend grabbed her son and threw . him down onto the pavement. He then picked him up in his carrier and raced off. Police were about to issue an Amber . Alert until the baby's body was found by the side of . I-275, the main motorway leading into Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast. TV . cameraman Bird, who was on his way to work for a local station, said: . 'Just out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw some trash on the . side of the road. But the more I thought about it, I saw eyes. 'It flipped me out, and I started shaking and said, 'It's a doll, a baby doll.' ' Police in Florida said at the time that Bedwell had previously sought a court injunction to keep McTear away from her family. Troubled history: Jasmine Bedwell (pictured left in 2009) became pregnant again after losing her son but her second child was taken away by the state in 2012 . The matter was dropped, though, after she failed to turn up for a court hearing. In 2010, Jasmine Bedwell found out she was pregnant again and gave birth to another son in September of that year. But . in January of 2012, she had her second child taken away by the . Department of Children and Families after a judge ruled the boy, A'Jon, . was in danger. Her boyfriend at the time had been convicted of cocaine and marijuana distribution and carrying a concealed weapon.
2009 by throwing the three-month-old out of a moving car while speeding down a highway. Richard McTear, of Tampa, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and other charges related to in the face and p*** on him, in his face, and he Bedwell's testimony was 'clearly... a violation' baby carrier against the wall while the child was she wants McTear to face the death penalty . An