Polk County jury finds Toby Holt guilty of manslaughter, extortion

BARTOW, Fla. - A Polk County jury has found Stobert "Toby" Holt guilty in the death of a co-worker.

The panel, which began deliberations around 4 p.m. Monday, returned the verdict shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday.  The jury determined that Holt was guilty of manslaughter and extortion, but not kidnapping.

Robert Wiles disappeared from his family's aviation repair business in April 2008.

His father, who owned the business, received an email and text asking for $750,000. Investigators found those notes came from his son's cell phone.

Prosecutors used Wiles' cell phone signal as a key piece of evidence.  They said Holt's cell signal and the victim's followed a nearly identical path after the disappearance.

Holt testified someone with the victim's phone may have been following him, or maybe the matching signals were just a coincidence.  His defense also presented evidence they say showed tracing cell signals is not an exact science.

Wiles' body was never found and he is presumed dead. There is no physical evidence to show a murder, but investigators did find a gun in Holt's car.

The prosecution also brought up the possibility there was no kidnapping at all, and that that story was just a cover-up for the murder over a workplace grudge.

"It was motivated by ill will, by spite, by resentment. And it was certainly unjustified and inexcusable," said Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo.

Holt faces up to 45 years in prison.