Jaylen Edgar, the teenager accused in the 2024 Halloween shooting in downtown Orlando, is seeking to present a “temporary insanity” defense, resulting in a delay of his trial. The trial, which was set to begin jury selection Thursday, will now be postponed for at least a month while Edgar undergoes a new psychological evaluation.
Circuit Judge Keith Carsten reluctantly approved the delay after receiving a letter from Edgar on Tuesday. In the letter, Edgar stated that an insanity defense had not been explored despite his mental state during the night of the alleged crime. He wrote, “It is my contention that there has been no true meaningful effort by my attorney to explore the reasonable hypothesis of incompetency by having a second doctor follow up with a mental states exam to determine my presence of mind during the alleged commission of the crime.”
Edgar also attempted to dismiss his lawyer, Junior Barrett. Barrett himself requested removal from the case due to ethical concerns. However, Judge Carsten denied both requests and ordered that Edgar’s psychological evaluation be completed within 30 days.
“I’m not happy about the position the court is in,” Carsten said. “This case has been announced ready for trial, and we have inconvenienced hundreds of members from our community to be brought into the courtroom to be considered for jury selection … [but] I’m satisfied that it would be an irreversible error for the court to deny the defendant’s opportunity to present that affirmative defense should he choose to do so.”
Assistant State Attorney Frank George said more time was needed for prosecutors to review any new findings and prepare their case if Edgar testifies regarding his mental state. He argued that proceeding without adequate preparation would prejudice their case.
Barrett told the court that mounting an insanity defense is difficult: “often times, unfortunately, juries don’t buy.” He also questioned whether Edgar could effectively testify on his own behalf: “Based upon my experience with him in this case and others that I have hired that have had experiences with him, including a mitigation expert, I truly don’t think he’s capable to effectively do that.”
A previous psychological evaluation conducted after Edgar’s arrest did not raise concerns about his competency or mental state at the time of incident. No other questions about his ability to stand trial have surfaced since then.
The delay may also give Barrett more time to prepare defenses related to fingerprint evidence on the gun and magazine used during the shooting—evidence prosecutors disclosed late in what Judge Carsten called a “willful” discovery violation.
On Halloween night 2024, surveillance footage appeared to show Edgar fatally shooting Tyrek Hill near Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard before allegedly firing again during another altercation along Orange Avenue toward Washington Street. That second round of gunfire killed Timothy Schmidt Jr., 17, and wounded several others. Police quickly apprehended Edgar amid chaos as crowds fled.
So far, authorities have not revealed any motive behind Hill’s killing. Lawyers representing victims’ families declined comment on delays in proceedings; they are suing both city officials and business operators over security measures at Wall Street Plaza where events unfolded.
Following these events, Orlando city commissioners responded by tightening alcohol sales regulations downtown and increasing security responsibilities for local businesses—a move aimed at curbing future violence but one which has contributed further legal challenges for city leadership.
