Thread: Jurors Reach Verdict In Espinoza/Canela Case

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Aug 9, 2006 7:38 am US/Eastern

Jurors Reach Verdict In Espinoza/Canela Case
(WJZ/AP) BALTIMORE A jury found two Mexican immigrants guilty on Tuesday of killing three children by cutting their necks until they were nearly decapitated more than two years ago in the children's Baltimore apartment.

WJZ'S Peggy Lee reports after the guilty verdict was read for Policarpio Espinoza, the jury was polled, and one of the jurors expressed confusion in the conspiracy charge, so the judge sent the jury back to deliberate.

Espinoza, 24, and Adan Canela, 19, were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of 8-year-old Lucero Espinoza and her 10-year-old male cousin, Alexis Espejo Quezada. They also were convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 9-year-old Ricardo Espinoza Jr. He was Lucero's sister.

It was the second time the men have been put on trial in the mysterious case, which sickened even hardened detectives in a city that perennially has one of the nation's highest homicide rates. The first trial ended in a hung jury in August 2005. Prosecutors have never defined a motive for the crimes.

After the verdict was read, Maria Andrea Espejo Quezada, the mother of Alexis, hugged both prosecutors outside the courtroom with tears in her eyes, despite long-running tension between the family and prosecutors. Prosecutor Tony Garcia said she repeatedly thanked them.

"She's happy for justice for Alexis," Garcia said.

Some family members have said they do not think the men were responsible. They often appeared reluctant to testify on the witness stand. Policarpio Espinoza is the children's uncle, and Canela is a cousin. Prosecutors have said other people may have been involved in the murders, as well as Espinoza and Canela, and that the family wasn't telling the whole story out of fear for their lives.

The men face up to life in prison without parole.

Ricardo Espinoza Perez, the father of Lucero and Ricardo Espinoza, Jr., said he still doesn't think the men are responsible for the killings.

"This decision is not good," he said.

Prosecutor Sharon Holback still didn't have any answers about motive after the verdict. She said all authorities know for sure is that family members are "very frightened," and it's unclear what they are afraid of.

Defense attorneys said they would appeal. James Rhodes, who is representing Canela, said the jury hurried through their deliberations, because a juror was experiencing a work-related problem due to the lengthy trial, which began in June.

"We asked for the court to step in and do something about it, but nothing was done," Rhodes said.

Policarpio Espinoza's attorney, Nicholas Panteleakis, said his client was "in shock" at hearing the verdict.

"I really feel an innocent man was convicted today," Panteleakis said.

The reading of Canela's verdict was interrupted twice when the jury appeared confused about what they had agreed upon. In the first incident, a juror didn't seem sure about one of the charges. The judge then sent the jury back to review the verdict, and they came back a short time later. Then a second interruption happened as the forewoman began reading the verdict, and several jurors started shaking their heads. After some discussion, the judge ended up sending the jurors back to the jury room to clarify their verdict. They returned after about 40 minutes and the verdict was read without further incident.

Juror Greg Hooker said the confusion was caused by the way the verdict sheet was presented to jurors. He said court officials gave them a new verdict sheet, and jurors even had a mock reading of the verdict before they returned to the courtroom.

It was a confusing end to a long and complicated case. Jurors in the first trial spent 10 days in deliberations, and Holback said it was the most complicated case she has ever worked on.

But this jury needed less than four days to reach its verdict.

"It wasn't difficult for me to come to a decision of guilty," Hooker said.

Hooker said testimony by Dana Jones, who lived upstairs from the apartment where the children were murdered, was convincing. Jones testified to seeing Espinoza and Canela walk behind the apartment building at night near the children's apartment two days before the murders. Jones, who saw them from her car, said that sighting made her uncomfortable.

Hooker also said a statement by Policarpio Espinoza putting him at the scene just before the May 27, 2004, murders was strong evidence. Espinoza's entire statement put both men at the scene, but references to Canela were redacted when presented to the jury because Canela has a right to confront an accuser and Espinoza didn't testify.

Besides the statement, prosecutors had two pairs of jeans with the children's blood and skin cells matching Espinoza and Canela's DNA. Prosecutors also presented a shoe worn by Espinoza with a small drop of Lucero's blood. They also had two bloody gloves with DNA links to the two men.

Defense attorneys argued that the DNA evidence was flawed because of how it was collected and because of the close genetic relationships between the men and the children.

Rhodes has suggested the family may have had some involvement with an illegal immigrant smuggling ring. The family immigrated from Tenenexpan, a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Judge David Mitchell ordered pre-sentence investigations and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 21.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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A jury found two Mexican immigrants guilty on Tuesday of killing three children by cutting their necks until they were nearly decapitated more than two years ago in the children's Baltimore apartment.

UUUMMMM they left out the word ILLEGAL

Rhodes has suggested the family may have had some involvement with an illegal immigrant smuggling ring. The family immigrated from Tenenexpan, a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Reading between the lines, as usual, here it is!!! Immigrated !!!! , I have the feeling they were all border jumpers.

They only face possible life without parole??? So their crime not only ended the lives of these little innocent children, but will cost taxpayers who have to keep them in a prison for years.

I have the feeling they were all border jumpers.

You are right.

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