Jury finds man guilty in Broward fatal fight Kindle convicted of manslaughter in girlfriend’s slaying

A Fort Lauderdale man who admitted killing his girlfriend during a fight in a Broward hotel room, but insisted it as an accident in the course of self defense, was found guilty of manslaughter Friday.

Reginald

Kindle, 56, was spared the more serious second-degree murder charge that would have put him at risk of spending the rest of his life in prison. By convicting Kindle of manslaughter, the jury rejected the prosecution’s argument that he acted with depraved indifference to human life, as well as the defense argument that he hurt the victim by mistake.

A day earlier, Kindle testified that he and his girlfriend, Sarah Robinson, had been staying in a hotel room outside Fort Lauderdale in June 2015.

The two got into an argument and, according to Kindle, Robinson lunged at him. He said he choked her to keep her at bay,

stopping only when she lost consciousness. He later realized she was dead and covered her under a pile of clothing and blankets.

Then he went out, bought crack cocaine, and returned to the room to smoke it. He also took pills in an effort to kill himself, he said. He called 911 a day later.

Gary Kunsman, a toxicologist at the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office, testified that the victim’s blood alcohol level was between two and three times the legal limit at the time of her death.

Sentencing has not been set. Kindle is next due in court on Nov. 22. The maximum punishment for manslaughter is 15 years in prison, but Kindle has prior convictions and prosecutors are seeking to have Broward Circuit Judge Mariya Weekes factor them into his sentence. If she sentences him as a habitual offender, it could double his sentence to a maximum of 30 years.

His last conviction was in 1991 for burglary. He served a 17-year prison sentence. He had previously served prison terms for attempted second degree murder, armed robbery and trafficking in stolen property.