Jason Mitchell, 19, appeared briefly via videoconference in a Fort Myers courtroom, about 100 miles from here. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, he responded quietly when asked if he understood the charges.

"He looks like he's in shock," said Sawyer Smith, one of his attorneys.

Three others — Eric Rivera, 17; Charles Wardlow, 18; and Venjah Hunte, 20 — made their first court appearance Saturday.

All four have been charged with unpremeditated murder, armed burglary and home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon.

Probable cause affidavits for Mitchell and Rivera obtained by the Associated Press said the two confessed to participating in armed burglary. According to the reports, Mitchell and Rivera admitted entering the home and said someone had a gun and shot Taylor, but they didn't identify who.

Police and attorneys also have said some of the young men confessed, though they wouldn't elaborate.

The four suspects will be transported to Miami, perhaps as early as today, when thousands are expected to gather to mourn the 24-year-old Pro Bowl safety.

A public viewing was scheduled this evening; a massive funeral was set for tomorrow at a Florida International University arena.

Taylor died Tuesday, one day after being shot at his home in an affluent Miami suburb. Police said the suspects were looking for a simple burglary, but it turned bloody when they were startled to find Taylor home.

The suspects all have prior arrests, according to Lee County Sheriff's Office records.

Wardlow was arrested twice for selling marijuana and once for grand theft of a vehicle, and Hunte was arrested previously this year on drug and trespassing charges.

Mitchell has been arrested twice, most recently in October on charges of driving with a suspended license and violation of probation. Rivera was arrested in October for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, and he previously was behind bars for altering the identification number on a firearm.

Those who know the young suspects attempted to defend them.

Cordaveous Brown, 16, who said he was a close friend of Rivera, described the suspect as calm and quiet. "He's not the type of guy to do something like this," he said. A woman who identified herself as Wardlow's grandmother called him "a sweet young man," and Jose Ortiz, a 36-year-old neighbor of Hunte, said he'd never heard of any problems or trouble surrounding the accused.

Smith, who represents Mitchell and Rivera, simply said the suspects were terrified.

Police remain tightlipped about how the suspects wound up at Taylor's home. The Miami Herald reported Mitchell cut the player's lawn and did other chores at the house and that Taylor's sister Sasha dates Wardlow's cousin. The Naples Daily News quoted a woman who identified herself as Jason Mitchell's mother as saying her son was at a birthday party at Taylor's home within the past two months.

Taylor's former attorney Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's sister had a 21st birthday party at her brother's home on Thanksgiving weekend. Bennie Williams, a neighbor to Wardlow's cousin, said he had seen Taylor's sister Sasha in the area recently. "She was here all last week for the holidays," he said.

Miami-Dade police wouldn't confirm any of the possible links.

Police have said the four suspects were intent on stealing, not killing.

"Murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive," Miami-Dade County police Director Robert Parker said.

Early Monday, Taylor and his longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at his home. He grabbed a machete for protection, but within moments, someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one hitting Taylor in the upper leg.

Neither the couple's 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured.

The bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor's leg, causing significant blood loss. He never regained consciousness and died early Tuesday.

Authorities haven't said whether they've linked the suspects to a break-in at Taylor's home eight days before the shooting. In that incident, someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.

Sharpstein said he had spoken with Taylor's father since the arrests. Though the family was appreciative police had worked so effectively, Sharpstein said the news provided little relief.