Man convicted of 1995 murder calls detective's memory into question during resentencing

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 1995 murder case will drag on even longer, due to questions about the memories one detective has from a 24-year-old crime scene.

Jimmy Bedoya's sentence for killing high school classmate Shauna Card is getting a second look, because the Supreme Court decided mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional.

Card's family wants him sentenced to life again and they held back tears Thursday at the Orange County Courthouse.

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Card's family talked about how hard it has been watching this resentencing process move at a snail's pace.

They're terrified a mistake made on the witness stand will put Bedoya back on the streets.

The future of a man who committed murder when he was just 16 years old now hinges on the aging memory of the detective who busted him.

In 1995, Detective Dave Callin was on the hunt for Card's killer. It took until 1999 to convict Bedoya of stabbing her 67 times.

When the case came back into the courtroom in 2018, Bedoya claimed for the first time that he was on drugs when he committed the crime.

Callin took the stand and said the teen seemed stone cold sober in the hours after the murder.

"It was largely based on, at best, a misunderstanding, but essentially incorrect facts," said Bedoya’s lawyer, David Redfearn.

The defense offered evidence that Callin didn't see Bedoya until a week after Shauna Card's death.

For a year, Bedoya has been fighting to have the detective's drug-related testimony thrown out.

"I don't care that he was on drugs or it wasn't on drugs,” said Card's stepmother, Beverly Card. “He still made the decision to kill our daughter and she doesn't get a second chance."

She said she wants a decision and some assurance that Bedoya will stay in prison despite begging for mercy.

"I feel terrible for the anger, the sadness and the loss that I have brought to Shauna's family," Bedoya said in April 2018.

Card's dad also hoped to walk out of court with answers. Instead, he's worried the judge might be leaning toward leniency.

"I realize that it's inconvenient and it's nerve-wracking, but if it changes the results, I’m willing to come back as many times as necessary," Kent Card said.

Both families are expecting to be back in court sometime late in the summer.

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