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BREAKING NEWS

Former Florida University Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend’s Valentine's Day Murder

Former Florida Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend's Murder
Source: Fort Myers Police Department; Unsplash

June 6 2023, Published 5:15 p.m. ET

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A former University of Florida football star player will spend more than two decades in prison for the 2016 murder of his girlfriend, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On June 5, Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson sentenced Tony Joiner, 37, to 25 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree murder for the death of Heyzel Obando, 26, as Front Page Detectives reported.

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Former Florida Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend's Murder
Source: HEYZEL OBANDO/ FACEBOOK

According to authorities, Obando was killed between Feb. 13, 2016, and Feb. 14, 2016.

Oxygen’s TV series Cold Justice did a series on the death of Obando, which helped tie her death to Joiner.

Former Florida Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend's Murder
Source: HEYZEL OBANDO/ FACEBOOK

In June 2019, Fort Myers Police praised the work of the series, saying the show footed the bill for additional DNA testing and brought in their own experts to re-analyze evidence that helped authorities link Joiner to the murder, the Naples Daily News reported.

Court records state Joiner called 911 on Feb. 14, 2016, and told dispatchers he needed an ambulance because something was wrong with his girlfriend.

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Former Florida Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend's Murder
Source: HEYZEL OBANDO/ FACEBOOK
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Joiner claimed he had just returned from a trip to Winter Haven with his daughters and found Obando’s body in the apartment.

Multiple first responders told detectives that Joiner was very calm and emotionless that night, adding he didn’t ask questions about how Obando died.

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Former Florida Football Star Sentenced for Girlfriend's Murder
Source: HEYZEL OBANDO/ FACEBOOK

Investigators found one fired cartridge casing from a 9 mm Tulammo Luger inside a small open cardboard box in the bedroom, court records stated.

Police talked to multiple witnesses who said Joiner owned that type of firearm.

One witness said Obando gave Joiner the money to purchase it. However, detectives were never able to find the gun used in Obando’s death.

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