2 boys guilty in death of Winter Park teen

Pair convicted in slaying of Roger Trindade, 15

Roger Trindade’s friends gathered into a group hug on Orange Avenue, outside the courthouse where a jury had just found two teenagers guilty of manslaughter in the 2016 death of the 15-year-old.

“They say it gets better with time, but there’s always little things that you see or you hear that remind you of him and his family,” said Rileigh Hanson, a Winter Park High School junior. “It’s been really hard for all of us, but it’s brought all of us together. And for that we’re eternally grateful.”

Jesse Sutherland and Simeon Hall, both 16, were also convicted of battery on Roger’s friend, Rodrigo Meirelles VainVliet, and of spitting on Roger, which prosecutors charged as battery.

Jesse’s attorneys had their hands on his shoulders as Circuit Judge Jenifer Harris read the verdict Wednesday afternoon after five and a half hours of jury deliberations. Simeon sat at the defense table and looked

forward silently.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 15. Simeon and Jesse face up to 17 years in prison, though the judge can choose to sentence them as youthful offenders or under juvenile sentencing guidelines.

Outside the courthouse, Roger’s mother said her son was never happier than when he was in Florida, where the family moved from southern Brazil in January 2016.

“He had so many dreams and plans for his life,” Adriana Thomé said. “This is important to know: He was very happy here. For him, it was a dream to be here with his friends.”

Roger enrolled in IB classes at Winter Park High School, learned to do magic tricks with a deck of cards and relished being able to ride his bicycle, his parents have said.

“He was kind and good of heart, and I know he would forgive them if he was here,” said Roger’s father, Rodrigo Trindade. “So in our hearts, we feel for them, for the families, of Jesse and Simeon. But this is justice working. And I think it worked well.”

The evening of Oct. 15, 2016, began with Roger and Meirelles Vain-Vliet, who is now 19, going to Park Avenue for burgers with friends. They were sitting on a low wall in the park when a teenager they did not know, George Barnikel, sprayed Roger’s chest with a foul-smelling liquid as a prank.

“This was not a fight. This was, in fact, an attack,” Assistant State Attorney Teri Mills-Uvalle told jurors in her closing arguments. George ran away with his group of friends, he and other teenagers testified this week. Roger and Meirelles Vain-Vliet followed, asking them what the spray was and why they did it.

They were not making threats, Mills-Uvalle said.

Another teenager, who is now 15 and serving time in a juvenile corrections facility for battery and witness tampering in the case, called his friend on Park Avenue and said he was about to “get jumped.” The Orlando Sentinel is not naming him because he was charged as a minor.

Jesse and Simeon were with the friend the 15-year-old called. They got on their bicycles and rushed to the stage on the north side of Central Park, witnesses said. Jesse got there first and started bumping against Meirelles Vain-Vliet and asking if he wanted to fight, Meirelles Vain-Vliet said Monday.

“This is a case about a split-second decision by a 15-year-old boy who thought he was helping friends,” said Jesse’s defense attorney, Danielle Barbato. She said Jesse saw Meirelles Vain-Vliet push one of his friends.

Simeon then arrived on his bicycle, witnesses said, and punched Meirelles Vain-Vliet in the jaw.

“He drew first blood,” Mills-Uvalle said. “He’s the one who threw that first punch that really escalated everything.”

Jesse then punched Roger, Mills-Uvalle said — knocking him to the ground. He never regained consciousness and died two days later when he was taken off life support.

Simeon’s attorney, David Fussell, pointed out that his client did not punch Roger. There was no animosity there, he said.

“The blow wasn’t a freak accident. The death was. You do not expect when you throw a punch that you’re going to kill someone,” Fussell said.

‘[Roger] was kind and good of heart, and I know he would forgive them if he was here.”

Rodrigo Trindade, Roger Trindade’s father

RED HUBER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Students and friends surround Adriana Thomé — Roger Trindade’s mom, back to camera — with a group hug after Simeon Hall and Jesse Sutherland were found guilty of manslaughter in Roger’s 2016 death.

RED HUBER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Simeon Hall, 16, left, and Jesse Sutherland, 16, sit at their defense table Wednesday in a Orange County courtroom. The two were convicted of manslaughter and battery in the beating death of Winter Park High student Roger Trindade.