POSTED: Friday, October 15, 2010 - 7:12am
UPDATED: Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 3:53pm
UPDATE - 4:34 P.M.
EL PASO - Jurors in the David Marmolejo murder trial are still deliberating and have reached no verdict.
Closing arguments begin this morning.
Marmolejo is accused of strangling his mother Gloria to death and of dumping her body in the Santa Teresa desert.
We will have the latest on the trial right here on ktsm.com.
UPDATE -12:15 P.M.
The prosecution picked up where the defense left off, beginning closing arguments at 11:00 a.m.
DA Jaime Esparza went over all the reasons the state believes David Marmolejo is guilty. He cited several pieces of evidence he described as the most important to the state's case.
Among other things, he detailed the cell phone records of David Marmolejo the night of Gloria's murder. He went over each call step by step, saying the records clearly point to David at being in the right place at the right time to commit the murder.
More time was spent reviewing cell phone records than any other piece of evidence except for the testimony of Mariah Wilson.
She was undoubtedly the state's key witness in this trial, and Esparza spent significant amounts of time disputing claims from the defense that her testimony is not reliable.
Esparza outlined the complete control Marmolejo had over her, and painted a picture of an intimidated girl just doing as she was told.
In regards to her time on the witness stand, Esparza said, "Based on how she acted, based on how she answered, her demeanor, she is trustworthy and credible."
He finished up his closing arguments around 12:15 p.m., ending with telling the jury that David Marmolejo has lied for too long. "Today is the day the truth catches up to him," Esparza said.
The jury was given instructions by the judge and the court broke for lunch. Once lunch is over, the jury will begin deliberating Marmolejo's fate.
UPDATE -10:45 a.m.
Closings arguments are halfway done in the David Marmolejo murder trial.
Proceedings opened this morning with the judge reading the court's charge to the jury. Judge Garcia described the charge against Marmolejo, and instructed them briefly on how to be impartial.
Then it was on to opening remarks from the prosecution.
They put Gloria Marmolejo's picture up on the projector screen and said of David, "The last person to see her doesn't tell the truth, and has inconsistent stories. Why? Because he killed her."
David Marmolejo was stonefaced during the opening remarks, with his lawyer telling him to 'stay cool' right before opening remarks began.
After the prosecution sat down, defense attorney Greg Anderson took to the podium and laid out his clients case for innocence.
He listed several pieces of evidence that the state used in the case against Marmolejo, and said why each one just didn't prove guilt.
He summed it up by providing extensive reasoning why he thinks it was Mariah Wilson, and not David Marmolejo, who killed Gloria.
He told the jury that the motive, the means, and the evidence all exist to support Mariah Wilson as the killer.
He highlighted inconsistencies in her statement and even accused her and Detective Ochoa, the officer who took Wilson's statement in March, of piecing together her story, with Mariah providing false information and Ochoa coaching her through the process.
Wilson was granted immunity in return for her testimony, which Anderson called a red flag. He said, "She is an accomplished liar...of course she wasn't going to tell them she did it because then she wouldn't get immunity."
He closed by reminding the jury of how important their role is, and how crucial it is for them to make an unbiased decision.
Anderson left the podium at 10:40 a.m.
The prosecution is expected to begin its final arguments at 11:00 a.m. A break for lunch is likely after that, following by an afternoon of jury deliberations.
Court officials have told me they expect the deliberations to extend into the weekend.