Acquitted in NJ Killing, Man Sentenced to 12 Years in FL Case

A former Vineland man who was acquitted in the stabbing death of his corrections officer neighbor in 2020 in a high-profile trial that was televised on Court TV came out on the losing end in his latest charge of domestic violence in Florida.

Zachary Latham was adjudicated guilty and sentenced this week to 12 years in prison as a habitual violent felony offender, for a case involving a woman who could not get him to leave her alone.

Latham's NJ Reckless Manslaughter Trial

Zachary Latham had just turned 18 in 2020 when he stabbed to death William “Timmy” Durham Sr., 51, who had been with his wife and two sons when they confronted the teen over an ongoing feud.

Latham — then a private in the New Jersey National Guard — insisted he only grabbed a 4-inch-blade knife as well as a Taser to protect himself from an attack by the family in his home in Vineland.

Lawyers for the dead man’s family insisted that Latham had deliberately instigated the fatal fight — hoping it would make him “TikTok famous.”

At one point he filmed himself being confronted by Durham’s wife, Catherine, over his driving — getting 3.1 million online views as he repeatedly called her “Karen.”

In another TikTok post, Durham’s son William, 21, appears to try to open his car door as he drives past — with Latham warning, “I got a knife, dude,” the lawyers noted in their letter.

“Karen’s son found out the video went viral and tried taking me out of the car,” he captioned that video.

Latham claimed he acted in self-defense when Durham and his two sons came onto his property.

The feud between Latham and the Durham family culminated in a bloody fight that ended with William Durham being stabbed multiple times and dying.

In 2023, Latham, then 20, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter, aggravated assault, and weapons charges in the death of Durham.

Latham's Legal Problems in Florida

Even before his not guilty verdict in the NJ case, Latham was running into trouble in Florida.

He was arrested in Florida in 2021 on charges that he threatened a motorist with a pellet gun that resembled an AK-47 and was sentenced to close to two years in prison.

Soon after his release in the first Florida case, he went back to jail after being accused of assaulting a Florida woman he met online when he lived in New Jersey.

According to the Florida State Attorney, in 2023 he moved to Southwest Florida where the victim lived, and they briefly began seeing each other. She decided that she did not want to see him anymore, but he refused to go away.

He began tracking her; even following her to a doctor’s appointment in Fort Myers.

Latham forced her to get in her car and made her drive them around the city. The victim parked the car and tried to escape a couple of times and screamed for help, but Latham forced her to stay in the car and strangled her, once making her briefly lose consciousness. He eventually had her drop him off and let her go.

Another time, he threatened to come and find her if she did not come over to talk. She went to his apartment, where he forced her into his bathroom and locked her in.

She eventually got free and got to her car. He tried to get her out of the car, but she managed to break free and drive away.

The victim got a protection order against Latham, which he violated. After Latham was arrested, while he was in jail, he sent numerous messages to a friend, threatening the victim.