An 18-year-old Temple man has been found not guilty of a 2012 murder.

A Bell County jury deliberated for 90 minutes on Wednesday before clearing Cedric “Snoody” Lilly of any wrongdoing following the 2012 shooting death of 34-year-old Michael Lamar Green. The jury’s decision came on the third day of the trial, a day marked by a strange occurrence in the courtroom in which a key witness for the defense claimed to be unable to testify.

35-year-old Ebony Sanders was called to the stand to confirm a statement she gave to police portraying the shooting as an act of self-defense on Lilly’s part. When Mike White, Lilly’s attorney, attempted to question Sanders, she claimed to have a mental illness that prevented her from recalling what she said in her statement to police.

Sanders maintained this stance when questioned by prosecutor Paul McWilliams. McWilliams then called to the stand Temple Police officer Sgt. John Palamara, who testified that Sanders was responsive and had no difficulty giving her initial statement to police.

After both attorneys rested their cases, Judge Fancy Jezek refused to allow any mention of self-defense in the instructions given to the jury because self-defense was not mentioned in testimony or evidence.

On November 9, 2012, Temple Police responded to a call in the 300 block of South 32nd Street around 9:20 p.m. When they arrived, they found Temple Fire and Rescue personnel attempting to resuscitate Green in front of his home. Green, who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lilly, who was 16 at the time, was identified as a suspect and taken into custody shortly after the crime occurred. In January of 2013, it was decided that Lilly would stand trial as an adult.

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