The former captain of the Bloomfield High School football team was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the deadly stabbing of a 27-year-old man who had allegedly been his sexual partner.
Tarence Mitchell, 19, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter after killing Ronald Taylor, Jr., 27, in the front yard of his home on Hill Farm Road in Bloomfield in November 2013.
Investigators said the two were romantically involved, and a fight turned deadly when Mitchell tried to end the relationship.
The former football star addressed Taylor's family in the courtroom Friday, expressing remorse and explaining that the situation got out of hand.
"I just want to say sorry to the whole family," he said. "I didn't plan for any of this to happen. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
A sense of closure was lacking Friday, when Taylor's family members expressed anger over the manslaughter conviction.
"Manslaughter? That young man needs to be in prison for the rest of his life," Taylor's mother said through tears.
