Defendant to testify in 1-punch Vegas Strip casino death

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A former Florida high school teacher and football coach is due to testify that he endured taunts and racial insults from a Utah man he's accused of killing with a single punch outside a Las Vegas Strip casino restroom.

Benjamin Gerard Hawkins is scheduled to testify Thursday afternoon in his involuntary manslaughter trial in the July 2011 death of 38-year-old John Massie.

Hawkins is black and from Gainesville, Fla. Massie was white and from Roy, Utah.

Both were visiting Las Vegas when they encountered each other in a restroom at O'Shea's Casino.

Hawkins told police he was defending himself when he punched Massie following derogatory comments about his race.

Silent security video shows the two men a few feet apart before Hawkins turns and throws the punch.

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