FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A witness in a murder trial playing out in central Arizona highlighted the age of the case Friday when she was asked to describe a pager.
About the size of a pack of gum. Vibrates. Lights up with a number.
Samantha Evans said she had one so that her mother could reach her, long before cellphones were a thing.
She was testifying in the case against Cecilio Cruz, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend and manslaughter in the death of his unborn son in a Cottonwood alley in 1997. When he was indicted in 2014, it was the only cold case in the Cottonwood Police Department.
In admonishing jurors, Judge Jennifer Campbell has warned them not to do research, including through Encyclopedia Britannica - if they knew what that was.
The trial is being held in Prescott. In the first week of testimony, prosecutor Steve Young called more than a dozen witnesses as he sought to establish a timeline on the night of March 24, 1997, and the following morning when Marisol Gonzalez’s body was found.
Gonzalez and Cruz dated in high school but had broken up by the time she found out she was pregnant. She had already named the boy Andrew and was overdue to deliver him.
Her family said they first went to the hospital when she wasn’t found in bed, thinking she was going into labor. They tearfully recalled the moments when they realized the 17-year-old was dead so close to home.
With no physical evidence, DNA, weapon or eyewitnesses tying Cruz to the crime, Young questioned people including Evans, who said they went by Cruz’s house and didn’t find him there in the hours police believe Gonzalez was killed.
Evans said she eventually met up with Cruz at his house around 1:30 the morning of March 25, 1997, after he paged her, and he didn’t appear nervous, afraid, concerned or worried.
“No, I didn’t get that vibe from him at all,” she said.
Young also sought to establish that Cruz, who is now 40, and Gonzalez routinely met in the alley between their homes.
Many witnesses couldn’t remember exactly what they were doing that night, more than 20 years ago. One man said he saw a couple, but he couldn’t be sure it was Cruz and Gonzalez.
Kylee Oso, who was dating Cruz at the time of Gonzalez’s death and also was pregnant with his child, didn’t remember saying to investigators that she told Cruz she wouldn’t marry him if Gonzalez had the baby.
“We weren’t talking about marriage at 16 and 17 years old,” Oso said, according to the Verde Independent.
Part of what hindered authorities early in the investigation, they said, is that some people were afraid to come forward with any information.
Earlier in the week, defense attorney Alex D. Gonzalez suggested police didn’t fully explore other potential suspects. Cruz and his brother are listed among witnesses for the defense.
One juror was excused Friday because of a family emergency, leaving 14.
The trial resumes Monday. Cruz could face more than 40 years in prison if convicted on both charges.
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