Witness issue causes delay in former UM football star Bryan Pata’s murder trial
The trial of the man accused of murdering his University of Miami football teammate in 2006 has been delayed until early next year in light of a key witness who police said was dead was found alive by an ESPN reporter, a judge ruled Thursday.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda pushed the trial of Rashaun Jones, the now 40-year-old former teammate who prosecutors say killed Hurricanes star defensive lineman Bryan Pata, back to Feb. 9, 2026 — almost two decades after the murder.
Jones was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in 2021, 15 years after the murder. He has pleaded not guilty; his trial was due to begin in the next few weeks. He has been in the county’s Metrowest jail in Doral since his arrest, as he is being held without bond.
READ MORE: Former player arrested, charged with 2006 murder of Miami Hurricanes star Bryan Pata
But that was before ESPN reported last week that a retired University of Miami professor who was a key witness in Pata’s 2006 death was alive, despite local police saying for years that he had died. Paul Conner had earlier told detectives he had seen Jones leaving the scene of the shooting at the Colony Apartments in Kendall.
During Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors said they were ready for trial. Attorney Bonita Jones-Peabody, who is on the legal team representing Jones, said the defense is ready for trial “subject to whatever happens” at hearings concerning Conner.
READ MORE: ‘Dead’ witness in UM football star murder case found alive. Will that impact case?
Pata, a 22-year-old Hurricanes star defensive lineman expected to be a top NFL draft pick, was shot in the back of the head and killed outside his Colony Apartments home on Nov. 7, 2006. Pata had just returned from football practice.
Conner, who lived at Colony Apartments at the time, said he heard the “pop” of the gunshot and saw a man emerge from the direction of the sound. Conner also picked Jones out of two photo line-ups on two different occasions, once after the murder and again in 2022.
In hearings in July, prosecutors told the judge that Conner, now 81, was dead, according to ESPN’s article. A reporter tracked him down in late August at his last known address in Louisville, Kentucky.
Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ed Griffith told the Herald on Wednesday that he believes “a review of hearing transcripts would indicate that prosecutors did not tell the court that Mr. Connor was dead.”
After not finding Conner, prosecutors successfully sought to admit Conner’s testimony, which was recorded in 2022 due to his age, health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones’ legal team is challenging the recorded testimony, citing Jones’ constitutional right to confront witnesses.
Defense attorneys, during Thursday’s hearing, told the judge that they will be filing another motion that could delay the trial. The attorneys had already filed a slew of other motions, aiming to reinterview Conner and bar his recorded testimony as evidence.
Judge Miranda also pushed back the hearing on the legal issues concerning Conner being found alive to Oct. 6. Prosecutors told the judge they planned on calling no more than four witnesses; the defense said it will call three to the stand.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM.
