Timeline: The 7-year court case that followed a UK student’s murder

Nearly seven years after UK student Jonathan Krueger was shot and killed during an attempted robbery, the three suspects tied to his death have admitted guilt, and will learn their prison sentences later this month.

The long, complex court case surrounding Krueger’s murder included debate about the death penalty and featured delayed trials due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the three suspects appeared in court Thursday, a man who was only 17 at the time of the shooting pleaded guilty to murder.

Krueger was a photo editor at the Kentucky Kernel, the UK student newspaper.

With the murder case set to be closed in less than a month, here’s how the proceedings have unfolded since 2015.

April 17, 2015: UK student shot and killed during robbery

Krueger was shot and killed while he was walking home with a friend early in the morning on April 17, 2015. Justin D. Smith, 18, and Efrain Diaz, 20, were arrested and charged over the incident. Roman Gonzalez, who was 17 at the time, was also charged and arrested.

Investigators said they learned that the three suspects were attempting to rob Krueger and his friend when the shooting happened, but Smith and Diaz blamed Gonzalez for actually shooting and killing Krueger.

Krueger’s friend managed to flee the scene without getting injured.

April 2015: Memorials held for beloved student

UK students and community members held vigils and assembled memorials for Krueger, including a flower memorial near the scene of the shooting and a vigil on campus. A scholarship fund was also organized in his remembrance.

About 300 people attended a candlelight vigil at UK’s Newman Center shortly after the shooting, said Kakie Urch, an associate professor at UK who was familiar with Krueger.

“The mood was one of shock, love and appreciation for a guy who was universally loved,” she said in 2015. “It was very emotional for everyone.

August 2017: Court case delayed over death penalty ruling

The case against Diaz, Smith and Gonzalez was delayed repeatedly. One reason was a Fayette Circuit Court judge’s ruling that it was unconstitutional to impose the death penalty on someone under 21. Prosecutors had planned to seek the death penalty in this case.

Judge Ernesto Scorsone’s ruling was made in a separate homicide case, but had impacts on the proceedings for Diaz and Smith. Gonzalez wasn’t eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the shooting.

Scorsone wrote that he made the ruling in part because those under 21 lack maturity to control their impulses and fully consider risks, making them unlikely to be deterred by knowledge of likelihood and severity of punishment.

March 2020: Supreme Court declines to make death penalty decision

Appeals were filed to higher courts after Scorsone’s ruling but the Kentucky Supreme Court said there was no standing to appeal until someone was convicted and actually faced the possibility of being put to death.

The cases affected by Scorsone’s ruling, which included Diaz and Smith’s cases, were sent back to circuit court. The death penalty remained a possible option for sentencing at the time.

June 2020: COVID delays trial further

An attorney for Smith successfully argued in June 2020 that the trial should be delayed because COVID-19 restrictions at the Lexington-Fayette County Detention Center and travel restrictions across the United States made it too difficult to prepare for a trial.

A Fayette County judge decided to push the trial back to May 10, 2021. Prosecutors argued prior to the judge’s decision that the parties should’ve already been prepared.

April 2021: Prosecutors drop death penalty, trial postponed again

The trial was delayed one more time after Smith’s attorney said in an April 2021 court hearing that the prosecution and defense had been working toward a plea deal. One stipulation of the plea deal was all three defendants had to plead guilty. The trial was pushed to April 4, 2022.

The trial date remained in place until the three defendants pleaded guilty earlier this week.

March 31, 2022: Suspects admit guilt for murder, robbery

A plea agreement was reached prior to the most recent hearing in the case, which led all three defendants to plead guilty when they appeared in front of a judge Thursday.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of robbery. Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter, two counts of robbery and evading police. Diaz pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery.

Prosecutors recommended that Gonzalez receive a 20 year prison sentence for his murder conviction, a 10 year prison sentence for one of his robbery convictions and a five year prison sentence for his second robbery conviction. Gonzalez is now 24 years old.

For Smith, prosecutors recommended that he receive a 10 year sentence for his manslaughter conviction, an 18 year sentence for one of his robbery convictions, a five year sentence for his other robbery conviction and a one year sentence for his evading police conviction. Smith is now 25.

Prosecutors recommended that Diaz receive a 15 year sentence for one robbery conviction and five years for the other robbery conviction. Diaz is now 27.

“Jonathan Krueger’s family and the living robbery victim have patiently waited for those responsible for his death to take responsibility,” Lou Anna Red Corn, the Fayette commonwealth’s attorney, said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “No crime victim should have to wait seven years for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions.”

April 28, 2022: Sentencing planned for defendants

Diaz, Smith and Gonzalez are scheduled to be sentenced April 28. A Fayette County judge will decide whether to accept prosecutors’ recommendations for each of their sentences. Prosecutors didn’t make a recommendation as to whether or not the suspects should serve each of their sentences at the same time or one after the other.

The judge’s decision on whether to run the punishments consecutively or concurrently could greatly affect each defendant’s prison time.