The prosecution and witnesses described a gruesome and bloody crime scene Monday during the first day of testimony in the trial of Marcell Jerrill Waldon, who is charged with killing former Lakeland City Commissioner Edie Yates Henderson and her husband, David Henderson, in November 2020.
In court in Bartow on Monday, Police recounted blood from floor to ceiling in the third-floor master bedroom of the Henderson’s picturesque home overlooking Lake Morton in downtown Lakeland.
The couple were found stabbed to death Nov. 10, 2020, in their home at 137 Lake Morton Drive. Together they had suffered more than 23 knife wounds.
In all, Waldon faces 11 charges in connection with the slayings. The State Attorney’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit Court is seeking the death penalty against Waldon, 39, of Lakeland.
A grand jury had indicted Waldon with 10 crimes in the killings. Charges included two first-degree murder charges; burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery while armed with a firearm; kidnapping for holding Edie Yates Henderson against her will; attempted arson for trying to set the couple’s home on fire after the crime; grand theft of David Henderson’s Audi A6; arson for setting the car on fire; and tampering with physical evidence.