17 Year Old Joshua Young On Trial For Complicity To Murder In The Death Of Stepbrother, Trey Zwicker. Joshua Young's Father Joshua Gouker Pled Guilty To Zwicker's Murder And Sentenced To Life. Young found NOT GUILTY!

By HLNtv.com Staff
updated 5:04 PM EDT, Mon July 29, 2013

Joshua Young is on trial for complicity to murder in the death of his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker.The 17-year-old's father has pleaded guilty to Zwicker's murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Timeline: Here's what led to Joshua Young's trial
The 17-year-old is charged with complicity to murder in the beating death of his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker. Young's father has pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Here's a look at what happened in the years leading up to Young's trial:

June 2010 -- Angelina Young, Joshua’s mother, dies of a drug overdose.

June 2010-March 2011  -- Joshua Young lives in a series of foster homes, finding a stable home with Susan and Chuck Stoneburger for seven months.

September 29, 2010 -- Joshua Gouker, Young's father, is released from prison.

March, 2011 -- Gouker regains custody of his son, Joshua Young.

May 10, 2011 -- Trey Zwicker, 14, is beaten to death.

June 23, 2011 -- Joshua Young, 15, is arrested in connection with the death of Trey Zwicker.

November 17, 2011 -- Joshua Young is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence.

July 26, 2012 -- Joshua Young is charged with complicity to murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence.

July 26, 2012 -- Joshua Young's father, Joshua Gouker, is charged with murder, wanton endangerment and unlawful transaction with a minor, tampering with physical evidence, torture of a dog or cat and persistent felony offender.

August 15, 2012 -- The prosecutor dismisses murder and tampering charges against Joshua Young, but complicity to murder and complicity to tamper remain.

August 20, 2012 -- Joshua Gouker, is arraigned on a charge of murder. He blurts out to the judge that he killed Zwicker and acted alone.

August 22, 2012 -- Joshua Young pleads not guilty at his arraignment.

May 10, 2013 -- Joshua Gouker pleads guilty to Zwicker’s murder.

July 26, 2013 -- Gouker is sentenced to life for the murder of Zwicker.

July 29, 2013  -- Joshua Young stands trial for complicity to murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence. Jury selection begins.

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after seeing this yesterday I get extremely interested. I see the trial is supose to be live streamed but cant find a link...anyone????

I w/be posting MORE on this when I have time.

Please check out the comments. This is Day 1 of trial.

Jane Velez-Mitchell
The Joshua Young trial is underway today after 14 jurors (12 deliberating and 2 alternate) were selected this morning. They will now listen to evidence presented by both sides and then decide this young boys fate. We'll have the very latest from inside the courtroom tonight at 7pm on HLN.

Slys Hunny wrote:after seeing this yesterday I get extremely interested. I see the trial is supose to be live streamed but cant find a link...anyone????

Wild About Trial   [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

August 01, 2013

Tiffany Baxter shares a half-brother with Joshua Young, and her father was engaged to Young's mother, Angelina Young, when she died.

Joshua Young is charged with "complicity to murder" and "complicity to tampering with physical evidence" in the 2011 beating death of his 14-year-old stepbrother, Trey Zwicker. Josh Gouker, Young's father and Zwicker's stepfather, was already sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for the death of his stepson.

Sharing a half-brother with Young meant that Baxter was able to spend some time with him during his early teenage years. She calls him a "nice, sweet kid," and says after his mother died, he had "a hard time being passed through the system." In an exclusive interview with HLN After Dark, Baxter gives us some insight into Young's past, what he's like and what she thinks of the negative attention Young is getting in the media and on the Internet.

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He was 14 years old when his body was found beaten to death behind Liberty High School, about a mile from his home in Louisville, Kentucky. Trey's mother Amanda McFarland was married to Josh Gouker at the time of his death, and he was staying at their home on the day he was killed. Trey was a freshman at Seneca High School, where his parents say he was an honor student.

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Aug. 5, 2013

In defiant, obscene and surprising testimony Monday, Joshua Gouker testified that he killed 14-year-old Trey Zwicker on May 11, 2011 by beating him to death with a pipe and that his son, Joshua Young, had no involvement.

“It just felt felt right,” Gouker said as the second week of Young’s murder trial began, saying he was angry at Trey’s mother for aborting his child. “I know it sounds monstrous ... but if we were in the Old Testament, it would be the same thing.”

Gouker testified he took Trey to a creek behind Liberty High School on East Indian Trail to confront him about stealing a lighter and a plate of food, then killed him with a pipe that he rinsed in the creek.

Asked if Young took part, Gouker said “nobody helped me.”

Last week, Trey’s mother, Amanda McFarland, said Gouker was with her at least until she fell asleep after 1:30 in the morning. She said Gouker went to sleep before her and she could hear him snoring.

But Gouker testified that McFarland fell asleep and he went out the living room to play video games before taking Trey to the creek to confront him. He got angry at Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Erin White, saying he has repeatedly told the story of how he killed Trey after initially lying to police and blaming his son.

“I’ve admitted everything I’ve done. I’ve been sentenced for it, life in prison, yet here I am, going over this same ... story,” he said.

Gouker testified he and Trey smoked marijuana together at the creek and that Trey picked up a pipe and began to hit it against a tree. When Gouker told the teen he would treat him like a man the next time he stole from him, Gouker said Trey brought up his father, Terry Zwicker.

White then asked Gouker if he punched Trey and pulled the pipe out of the teen’s hand and beat him with it.

“That’s a good version,” Gouker responded.

When White later asked for specifics about the murder, Gouker said: “You're sadistic. You want to hear this?" He then offered few details.

Initially, Gouker told police Young told him that he had beaten his stepbrother to death with a bat because he hated him and he “sleeps just fine.”

And Gouker said he told several family members to tell police the same story.

“How do you not see that this late in the game?” Gouker asked White. And he said the lead detective in the case, Detective Scott Russ, has believed his lies since the beginning, saying Russ couldn’t find breasts in a strip club.

Under questioning from the defense, Gouker admitted that Young was only on trial because of Gouker.

Asked by jurors if he loved his son, Gouker said he didn’t really know him that well.

Also on Monday, a woman who traveled with Young and Gouker to Alabama after Trey was killed testified that Young told her on the trip that he had beaten his stepbrother to death.

"I beat the hell out of him," Angelic Burkhead said Young told her.

Under cross-examination, the defense played a phone call where Russ and Gouker called Burkhead and she repeatedly denied that Young had confessed to her.

Gouker told her to tell the truth over and over and, eventually, Burkhead sobbed and said Josh was the killer.

Defense attorneys have said several people who will testify for the prosecution have no credibility, that Gouker controlled witnesses, some of whom wouldn't talk to police without his permission.

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I have been watching this trial from the begining and cant decide one way or the other as to his guilt or innocence. One person testifys and I think hes guilty the next one I think innocent. The only consistancy ive seen is that with the exception of Treys dad , his uncle, the woman they abducted on the run, and of course LE  everyone has been caught lying including Treys mother. They have all been influenced and or brain washed by Josh Gouker. They are all still scared of him. When Angelic Burkhead was comming off the stand and they called Josh Gouker she litterally ran out of the court room. These are all my interpretations of what ive been watching. I dont know how to embed the video of her running out or I would....Im leaning towards this kid is just another victim in a long list!!

right about the 59:40 spot. It wasnt the aunt though she was a long time girlfriend of Josh Gouker

Thank you Slys, yes it did look like she wanted out of there!

my thought is if an adult that has had a long running sexual relationship with this guy wants to run out of a courtroom full of armed guards to get away from him while he is in shackles ...how scared did Josh Young have to be of him at 15

Please click here: You will see Many court videos and more.

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I feel for Joshua. I PRAY he is found not guilty..or Guilty but gets Help! MOO.

Attorneys for Joshua Young finished their case on Thursday without calling the teen to defend himself in the May 2011 murder of his 14-year-old stepbrother, Trey Zwicker.

Jurors will hear closing arguments and begin deliberations Friday and Judge Barry Willett told them to bring a bag of clothing and other necessities in case they don’t reach a decision Friday night, as they would be sequestered
in a hotel and resume on Saturday.

The defense, which had called some witnesses, including a former medical examiner, earlier in the trial, took only about 45 minutes to finish their case. Defense witnesses said Young seemed close with Trey and was visibly upset at his funeral.

Young was “very sad, very distraught, teary-eyed” Cindy Guenther, Young’s aunt, testified. Other witnesses testified for the prosecution that Young showed no emotion about Trey’s death.

Also, Allison Miller, Young’s former social worker who works for the state Cabinet of Health and Family Services, said she saw Young and Trey playing video games and joking together. She saw no problems between the teens in two visits.

Jurors were sent home before 10 a.m. as both sides worked on jury instructions.

The defense did not say why Young didn’t testify, though his statements to police denying any part in the murder were played during the trial.

In recorded statements played Tuesday, Young repeatedly denied to police that he or Gouker were involved.

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I am so afraid this will not turn out well for Joshua! He needs help, a ton of real expert help, from living with that POS Father he adored to whatever happened to Trey and by who. I do not want them to find him not guilty and just let him go, that will accomplish nothing but damage. I do not want them to find him guilty and throw him in prison, then we're really talking damage. I so feel for that boy!

I agree with all of you..haven't followed this case to the nth degree but know enough about it to know that this poor kid was brainwashed. I was on the fence until I saw that POS on the stand on Monday. WOW!!

Yeah, he was something on the stand!

I agree with all of you. I do think with his foster family who really seem to care and his aunts and uncle also. I really hope hes found innocent but with a strong admanition to get help.

Aug. 9, 2013 8:27 PM
Written by
Jason Riley
The Courier-Journal

A Jefferson Circuit Court jury on Friday found 17-year-old Joshua Young not guilty of brutally beating to death his 14-year-old stepbrother, Trey Zwicker, in May 2011.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated about nine hours before returning the not guilty verdict on a charge of complicity to murder and not guilty on one count of tampering with physical evidence.

Shortly after reading the verdict, Judge Barry Willett said the case was dismissed and that Young would be released from custody. The young defendant was beaming after the verdict was read. Trey’s mother hung her head and his weaping family left the courtroom without speaking to reporters.

Before the verdict, jurors watched both Young’s interviews with police, in which he denied any involvement, and the testimony of his father, Joshua Gouker, who pleaded guilty to killing Trey and claims he acted alone.

Earlier in the day, Leslie Smith, an attorney for Young, pointed to the diminutive teen and told jurors there was no evidence he was involved in the death of his stepbrother.

“Why are we here?” she asked the jury. “Send this kid home. ... He is innocent and you know it.”

Smith pinned the blame for Trey’s death on Gouker, a felon who said he bludgeoned Trey with a pipe and left him to die behind Liberty High School on East Indian Trail.

“Do you really think he didn’t kill Trey?” she asked jurors about Gouker. “He took a lot of pleasure doing that to that poor boy, he really did.”

But Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elizabeth Jones Brown said Young committed one “of the most brutal crimes imaginable” and Gouker lied about acting alone, saying evidence shows Young carried out the crime at his father’s request.

“This was an utterly senseless and heartbreaking murder,” Jones Brown said, imploring jurors to overlook Young’s youthful appearance and horrible upbringing. “You cannot let sympathy add reasonable doubt.”

She said when Young was arrested two years ago, he showed no emotion. “This is a 15-year-old who yawns when he is being arrested for murder,” she said.

Jones Brown argued that Gouker put his son up to the murder because he was angry that Trey’s mother, Amanda McFarland, had aborted a pregnancy. And Gouker made sure he had alibis that night, having sex with McFarland and going to a gas station and getting cigarettes — as shown on a surveillance camera.

Cassie Gouker — Joshua Gouker’s neighbor, cousin and sometimes lover — testified that Young woke her up after the murder, about 1:30 a.m., saying he had killed Trey and needed her to drive him somewhere to get rid of a bloodstained baseball bat and clothing.

And Jones Brown said that Joshua Gouker couldn’t describe details of the killing when he testified during the trial, also slipping once and saying “we” when talking about the murder.

Smith said, however, that the jury should throw out anything Gouker has said, because he has repeatedly lied and manipulated police since the day Trey was found.

Also, she said there is no physical evidence against Young, just witnesses who were controlled by Gouker and lied about the teen confessing.

After initially trying to blame the murder on Young, Gouker has repeatedly said he killed Trey alone and has sought to deflect any responsibility from his son.

Young repeatedly denied to police that he or Gouker had anything to do with the murder.

“My dad liked Trey, and so did I,” Young told Louisville Metro Police homicide Detective Scott Russ during a June 21, 2011, interview. “I had nothing to do with it and I’m pretty sure my dad” didn’t either, saying his father was with Trey’s mother the night of the murder.

When Gouker entered his guilty plea in May, he told Willett that he took Trey to the creek to confront him about stealing a lighter and a plate of food.

Gouker said he killed Trey with a pipe, then rinsed it in the creek. No murder weapon has been recovered.

Smith said there is no evidence that the weapon prosecutors suspect was used to kill Trey, a baseball bat, was used in the crime, telling jurors medical examiners believed the weapon used was a rod-like pipe.

The witnesses against Young were tainted by a police investigation that allowed Gouker to talk with them at the same time as police, letting Gouker control the situation, Smith said.

He is a “puppet master,” she said, who has orchestrated this case from the start.

“We don’t know what the heck happened that night and we have to accept that we will never know,” Smith told jurors, imploring them not to convict Young. “Don’t convict this boy because you don’t know.”

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HLN stated that there is a couple that wants to adopt him. I PRAY they do and he gets all the help he can for probable PTSD at the Very Least. The smile on his face when the the verdict was read was heartbreakingly bittersweet. This poor kid! He's free from that horrible father and free to live his young life! God Bless Joshua!

After the verdict was read:

 

Im so happy I think this jury got it 100% right!!!

Could NOT agree more!

I agree, and the foster parents will get him help, I'm sure.

OMG I am so glad. BUT why the heck the judge didn't order some type of intense counselling for him, I do not understand! With having that Father he has, seeing and being with him when he (Father) did horrible things, making Joshua do things with him and whatever else we don't know about, I don't know how he can make it w/o a life of crime! I am so glad his foster parents want him and want to adopt him! Hopefully they can afford some really good mental help for him. MOO.