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Former Florida Gators football star Tony Joiner charged with murdering wife

By Connor Grott
Former Florida Gators football star Tony Joiner was arrested Saturday and faces second-degree murder charges in his wife's death. Photo courtesy of Fort Myers Police Department/Twitter
Former Florida Gators football star Tony Joiner was arrested Saturday and faces second-degree murder charges in his wife's death. Photo courtesy of Fort Myers Police Department/Twitter

June 9 (UPI) -- Former Florida Gators football star Tony Joiner was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the 2016 death of his wife, Heyzel Obando.

Joiner, 33, was arrested in Lake Wales, Fla., on Saturday, according to Fort Myers police. He was being held in the Polk County Jail, and is to be transferred to the Lee County Jail.

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Obando, who was 26 at the time, was found dead in her Maple Crest Apartments home on Valentine's Day in 2016, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. Police said at the time that her death was suspicious, and ruled it a homicide two months after her body was discovered. The case went unsolved for over three years.

Joiner was a standout safety for the Gators from 2004-07 under former head coach Urban Meyer. He served as a team captain during his senior season.

Joiner is the second player from the 2007 Gators team to be charged with murder, following Aaron Hernandez's conviction. Hernandez was a star tight end with the New England Patriots until he was convicted of murder in 2015. He killed himself in jail two years later.

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According to the News-Press, Joiner previously was arrested twice for beating Obando. A month after Obando's death, he also was held at the Lee County Jail for violating a probation charge. He was released May 8, 2016.

Obando's mother, Isabel Martinez, was granted guardianship of her two grandchildren in 2017.

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