Judge to decide sanity, next steps for man accused of purposely killing man biking with sons
TAMPA, Fla. - It's been a while since Mikese Morse had appeared for any of his scheduled court dates, but he did on Thursday. For a virtual hearing Thursday, Morse had a grown a full beard, most of it covered by a surgical face mask.
He answered all of the judge’s questions and agreed to waive his right to a jury trial. That set the stage for a non-jury trial for April 19. All of this comes on the heels of a stunning announcement two weeks ago from lead prosecutor Scott Harmon.
"We are in agreement to allow the defendant to be found not guilty by reason of insanity," stated Harmon.
Harmon explained to the court that both the defense and state's court-appointed doctors agree: Mikese Morse was insane at the time he killed a father of two. That means Hillsborough Judge Mark Kiser will have the final say on Morse's sanity and placement next month.
Morse had posted a rambling, incoherent message on Instagram days before he plowed his car into a father and his two sons riding bikes. The father, Pedro Aguerreberry, died.
Pictured: Pedro Aguerreberry and family
After the crash, Morse posted another video on social media and blamed it on evil spirits.
"Yeah, devil, this is all your fault, all your fault because you descended to Earth," said Morse.
Morse's parents, Khadeeja and Michael Morse say they tried to get their son help for years, but the state's resources just weren’t available.
"Mikese has been a model resident. All he needed was help. I don't know what else we could have done to prevent this," said Mrs. Morse.
Pictured: Mikese Morse
Even Morse showed up at a police substation asking for help, warning police he could hurt someone.
He was Baker Acted and was temporarily committed to a mental health facility but released days later. Sadly, it would be the Aguerreberry family who would suffer a lifetime from that decision.
"They experienced a horrific loss because the system failed them and it failed us," Khadeeja Morse explained.
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