Lawyer for woman found not guilty in murder case says Orlando police 'put their thumb on the scale'

ORANGE COUNTY, Florida. — A woman who spent nearly two years behind bars accused of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of a man was found not guilty by an Orange County jury last week.

Kelonshay Watson, who turns 26 on Friday, was arrested in the fall of 2022 along with a 17-year-old girl. Both are accused of stalking, beating, stabbing, shooting and robbing a man named Sean Ruben Acosta near downtown Orlando. After spending some 652 days behind bars, Watson was found not guilty of first-degree murder of Acosta on Thursday after a four-day trial, according to a news release from Andrew Darling of Darling Law.

In the press release announcing Watson's vindication, Darling claimed that Orlando police had “put the screws on and framed the deceased as the victim in this case.” He accused the agency of “misleading the media with fabricated facts to demonize suspects.”

There was never any evidence in this case that Ms Watson or her co-defendant took anything from the deceased. The deceased was the aggressor and harassed the two women at the Lynx station and had several altercations with them. This ultimately ended with one of the women defending the other by shooting and killing the deceased.

(…)

Mr. Acosta prepared to fight, then pushed Watson against the vehicle and put his forearm around her neck, suffocating her. He was struck in the head by a gun butt and then shot. They attempted to stop him before shooting him. It is very possible that Ms. Watson would have been the victim in this case had he not been shot.

(…)

The Orlando Police Department put the brakes on the case and portrayed the deceased as the victim. He was not. This caused years of suffering for the deceased's family and the defendants in this case.

August 28, 2024 | Darling Law Defense Attorney: Jury Finds Client NOT GUILTY of Murder (Excerpts)

The law firm asked the district attorney's office to review the investigation and determine whether other measures should have been taken. Watson “committed no crimes and will never get those 652 days back,” the press release continued. Darling Law wants to work with local lawmakers to “solve this problem.” In particular, it was pointed out that Watson should be compensated for the time she spent in prison.

News 6 has reached out to Orlando Police Department for comment on the press release.

The headlines of the day in a few minutes with Your Florida daily newspaper: