(Bartow, Florida) A man accused of killing  a gay Floridian in 2007 has turned down a plea deal that would have spared him the death penalty.

Prosecutors had thought they had a deal where William Brown Jr., 22, would admit to the killing, in return for a life sentence, but the deal fell apart at the last minute this week.

Brown will now go on trial Oct. 12 for capital murder in the slaying of Ryan Skipper.

Brown’s co-defendant, Joseph Bearden, was sentenced in February to life behind bars for his part in the killing. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.

Throughout the trial, Bearden maintained Brown killed the 25-year-old Skipper. Brown had been called to testify at Bearden’s trial but plead the fifth, declining to testify.

Bearden has since filed an appeal to his conviction and sentence.

Skipper, who was openly gay, was attacked in his own car. His body was found on the side of a road. His throat had been slashed and there were multiple stab wounds – as many as 20- covering his torso.

Much of the testimony in Bearden’s trial is expected to come up in the trial of Brown.

John Kirchoff, a friend of Brown, testified that Bearden planned to rob Skipper at Skipper’s home. “He was going to rob the guy at his house,” Kirchoff testified, “but somebody came home, so they left.”

According to Kirchoff, the two then went to a drug house where Kirchoff and Brown were staying in order to try to exchange a broken laptop for drugs. At one point, Brown and Bearden had a private conversation where they allegedly discussed robbing Skipper for his vehicle.

Skipper, Brown and Bearden later left in Skipper’s new Chevrolet Aveo, Kirchoff said.

Kirchoff told the jury that Brown returned later with blood on his shirt and was crying and shaking.

“At first he was sobbing. All of sudden, he stopped like that, and he said he killed him,” Kirchoff testified.

The jury then listened as a tape was played of  Bearden’s recorded statement to police the night he was arrested.

“I had no idea that they was going to kill the dude,” Bearden told detectives.

Detectives then asked him about Skipper’s sexuality. He said Skipper asked “curious questions” that made him think Skipper was gay.

“But I don’t mind that,” Bearden said on the tape. “I mean I’m straight as long as you don’t try to hit on me.”

During the course of the interview, however, he used a number of derogatory terms to describe gay men.