Rivera insisted that he was not told about the burglary plot until the group was driving across Alligator Alley toward Miami, and that he stayed in the car outside Taylor’s house the whole time.
The murder weapon was never found. Police say it was stuffed in a sock and thrown into the Everglades.
Taylor, a Pro Bowl safety who had starred at the University of Miami, was shot in the upper thigh, damaging his femoral artery and causing massive blood loss.
Witnesses say Taylor was shot when he confronted the group with a machete outside his bedroom. A medical examiner said he was essentially dead on arrival at a hospital on November 26, 2007, although doctors did manage to restart his heart for a while.
Aside from Rivera’s confession, police found shoe prints outside Taylor’s home that matched sneakers some in the group were wearing that night.
Witnesses testified Rivera was seen driving a rented black Toyota Highlander believed used in the crime, and another witness said the group of five had burglary tools when they came to her house after Taylor was shot.
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