MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A years-long legal battle over a deadly confrontation has ended with a jury acquitting a man of second-degree murder charges stemming from a dispute over a cat.

James Taylor, 41, was fatally shot during an argument with his neighbor. 

What led to the deadly confrontation?

The backstory:

The incident occurred on October 20, 2021, in Southeast Marion County, north of Umatilla, and reportedly began when Taylor’s cat crossed onto the neighbor’s property, leading to a confrontation. 

According to investigators, the neighbor, Clifton Anthony Bliss Jr., armed himself with a rifle and approached Taylor’s home, where the argument escalated.

The sheriff’s office arrested Bliss Jr. on a second-degree murder charge. Last week, a jury found Bliss Jr. not guilty after determining his actions were reasonable under the circumstances.

What they’re saying:

Taylor’s fiancée, Crystal Mitchell, expressed disbelief over the tragedy. “For that to end up like that? It’s unbelievable,” she said. Mitchell, who declined to appear on camera, said Taylor was a helpful neighbor, adding, “James wasn’t the kind to walk around and just threaten anybody and everybody with violence — that was not him.”

Legal experts say such cases hinge on proving an imminent threat of deadly force.

Criminal defense attorney Michael Panella, who was not involved in the case, emphasized the importance of de-escalation in conflicts. 

“Your best self-defense are … nonverbal and verbal cues, being able to de-escalate something and actually removing yourself from a dangerous situation,” Panella said. “The last resort, the absolute last resort, is using deadly force.”

Bliss Jr. declined to comment on his acquittal. 

Mitchell hopes her story reminds others that violence is never the answer.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO:

Cloaked by cloud cover, a rumbling SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket promptly vanished from view from various vantage points across the Space Coast swiftly after liftoff Monday morning.

SpaceX’s Starlink 12-4 mission vaulted from Launch Complex 40 at 11:47 a.m. EST at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Monday’s Starlink liftoff took place about 8½ hours after Blue Origin crews scrubbed their early morning bid to launch the first New Glenn rocket on its historic maiden mission from nearby Launch Complex 36.

The SpaceX liftoff — which deployed 21 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit — clocked in as the fifth orbital rocket launch thus far during the 2025 calendar year from Florida’s Space Coast. Last year saw a new annual record of 93 launches established at the Cape.

Rocket photography: FLORIDA TODAY’s 2025 Space Launch Calendar is here

Unlike during Monday’s early morning New Glenn launch window, patches of significant cloud cover raced eastward across Central Florida and North Florida before the SpaceX liftoff, as seen in a National Weather Service radar loop from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport station.

The Starlink mission marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s 15th flight. The booster previously launched Ax-2, Ax-3, CRS-30, SES 24, NG-21, Euclid and eight Starlink missions, SpaceX reported.

Following stage separation, the booster settled for a landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Grativas out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Next SpaceX launch coming up Wednesday

SpaceX will next launch Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost moon lander for NASA atop a Falcon 9 at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

“After the launch, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will spend approximately 45 days in transit to the Moon before landing on the lunar surface in early March. The lander will carry 10 NASA science investigations to further our understanding of the Moon’s environment and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach,” a NASA media advisory said.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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