VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The case against a U.S. Navy sailor accused of killing his wife’s boyfriend is headed to circuit court.
The Virginia Beach Police Department arrested Tyler Jenkins back in March for the death of 28-year-old Timothy Talley, a sailor stationed in California.
On Thursday morning, attorneys argued the charges against Jenkins.
Jenkins' defense attorney, Brandon Fellers, said Jenkins committed a "heat of passion" not malice. But ultimately, a Virginia Beach judge did find malice and certified three charges against him, one of them being second-degree murder.
“This is a textbook case of heat of passion when someone goes in and sees a spouse in the act. And so, that’s what we believe this is. We do believe this is overcharged from the commonwealth," Fellers said.
A Virginia Beach judge heard from Jenkins’ wife, who is also in the Navy.
She said prior to the shooting on March 11, she and Jenkins agreed to divorce. She said she wanted to date other people and encouraged him to do the same.
Though both lived in the same apartment on Crystalline Place, she said they lived separate lives, slept in separate rooms and dated other people.
She told the judge she had returned from the sea on the USS George H.W. Bush the day of the shooting.
The defense argued Jenkins also bought her gifts in hopes of reconciling their relationship.
“They had some arguments in February but when he picked her up March 11, he thought they were good. He thought they had worked through all their differences," Fellers said.
That night, she says she went out with Talley and other friends. Then, she and Talley went back to her apartment.
While they were having sex, she says Jenkins burst through the door firing shots.
She claims Talley jumped out of bed with his hands up trying to calm Jenkins down. She said Jenkins fired another round of shots which police say end up killing Talley.
Court records say Jenkins' wife called 911 after the shooting, thinking he tried to shoot her too. She said she didn't suffer any injuries in the incident.
Prosecutors said Jenkins knew about his wife dating other people and said he met someone else too, arguing the shooting had malicious intent.
He’s due back in court later this month.