Jury selection is set to begin Thursday in the murder trial of former Florida State University and NFL wide receiver Travis Rudolph, who was charged after he allegedly opened fire on a group of people in Palm Beach County, killing one in April 2021.
NBC affiliate WPTV-TV reports the 27-year-old native of West Palm Beach has been out of jail on house arrest after he unsuccessfully sought a "stand your ground" defense in 2022 for his first-degree murder trial.
Rudolph was arrested and charged over two years ago for the early morning incident that took place in Lake Park, just north of West Palm Beach. He also faces three counts of attempted first degree murder.
A police affidavit said one of the victims told police he had been in contact with Rudolph’s girlfriend, who said she had been in a fight with the football player.
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The man and three other people went to Rudolph’s home where he was "immediately combative and confrontational” according to the affidavit.
After physically fighting for several minutes, Rudolph allegedly went back inside his home and allegedly grabbed a firearm and ran behind the car before shooting at it.
One person at the scene was injured and later hospitalized. A passenger in the car was shot and killed while both the driver and another passenger were uninjured.
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Detectives said witnesses told them Rudolph was holding a rifle shortly after they reported hearing the gunshots. Rudolph refused to speak with detectives, according to the affidavit.
Rudolph was a high school star in West Palm Beach before signing with the Seminoles, where he played for three seasons and finished his career with 18 touchdown receptions and helped lead FSU to an Orange Bowl victory to end the 2016 season.
Rudolph was Florida State's leading receiver in 2015 and 2016 and left the team early to enter the NFL draft in 2017. He went undrafted but eventually signed with the New York Giants and then the Miami Dolphins.
Rudolph gained national attention in 2016 when a video of him eating lunch with an autistic student during a team visit at a Tallahassee middle school went viral. Rudolph's father died a year later after a gun accidentally discharged at a West Palm Beach strip club.
