Former Florida State Wide Receiver Found Not Guilty In Murder Trial
The last couple of weeks have been a strenuous process for former Florida State wide receiver and NFL player, Travis Rudolph. He's been at the forefront of a murder trial that dated back to an incident in 2021.
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Following a confrontation with four men outside of his home that occurred after a disagreement with his girlfriend, Travis retrieved a semi-automatic rifle and fired 39 rounds at the group. The confrontation left one man dead and another wounded.
On Wednesday, jurors at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, FL, found Rudolph not guilty of murder. He faced one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder but was cleared on all charges. Rudolph could've been convicted on lesser offenses but those were denied as well.
In total, it ended up taking the jury less than four hours to find him not guilty. Shortly after learning of the decision, Rudolph was thankful that justice prevailed.
"It means everything. I finally got my freedom back and I can get back to my life," Rudolph said outside of the courthouse. "I just want to thank the jurors, thank the court, thank everyone that was involved in this, man. It means a lot for the support with everyone."
"I just felt like it was right," Rudolph continued. "I knew from all along that I did what I had to do to protect me and my brother's life."
Moving forward, Rudolph is hoping to restart his career as a professional football player. He suited for the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins in 2017-18 prior to a stint with the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2020-21. The Blue Bombers released Rudolph at the time of his arrest in 2021.
"What's next? Definitely going to celebrate with my family," Rudolph said. "Get back to trying to play football and everything. Without these two guys behind me, my foundation, I wouldn't be here today."
Rudolph spent three years at Florida State and was an instant contributor for the program. He caught 38 passes for 555 yards and four touchdowns in 2014 before developing into the Seminoles' leading receiver over his final two seasons in Tallahassee.
The Florida native was named a back-to-back All-ACC Second-Team selection. He caught 153 passes for 2,311 yards with 18 receiving touchdowns. Rudolph is one of three Florida State wide receivers with multiple 200+ yard games (Ron Sellers, Craphonso Thorpe).
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