Former Florida football star Tony Joiner sentenced in girlfriend's 2016 homicide

Tony Joiner, a former University of Florida football star player arrested in his girlfriend's 2016 murder, will spend more than two decades behind bars.

Lee Circuit (Florida) Judge Nicholas Thompson adjudicated Joiner guilty Monday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison after Joiner, 37, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree murder in the slaying of Heyzel Obando, 26.

Originally from Miami, Obando was murdered between Feb. 13, 2016, and Feb. 14, 2016, authorities said.

Joiner was tied to the death of Obando at their Fort Myers apartment after more than three years and help from experts with a true crime television series.

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In June 2019, Fort Myers Police held a news conference praising the work of Oxygen's TV series "Cold Justice", saying the program footed the bill for additional DNA testing and brought in experts to re-analyze evidence that helped authorities link Joiner to the murder.

Joiner's 25-page arrest affidavit said Joiner called 911 on Valentine's Day 2016 and told dispatchers he needed an ambulance because something was wrong with his girlfriend.

Joiner told authorities he had just returned from a trip with their daughters to see his family in Winter Haven, Florida, and discovered Obando's body in the apartment when he returned. Multiple first responders, including EMS employees, told detectives that Joiner's calm and emotionless demeanor that night was bizarre, and that he didn't ask questions about how Obando had died, according to the affidavit.

Detectives discovered one fired cartridge casing from a 9 mm Tulammo Luger inside a small open cardboard box in the bedroom, the affidavit said.

Multiple witnesses told authorities Joiner owned that type of firearm, and one said Obando gave him the money to purchase it. But detectives never located the gun used in Obando's death.

The Fort Myers News-Press reached out to Rick Hurtado, director of football communications at the University of Florida, for comment but didn't immediately receive a response.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The Fort Myers News-Press. Follow Tomas on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.