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Strangling suspect described as ‘abusive,’ ‘frustrated’

By By EMILY MORRIS The Daily Sentinel

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The murder trial for Hector Zambrano began Wednesday with prosecutors describing him as a controlling and abusive husband, while the defense counsel portrayed him as a frustrated man who had been manipulated by a scheming woman.

Zambrano is suspected of strangling his wife, Patricia Reyes, at his home at 2853 Elm Circle, No. 1, in the early morning hours of April 10, 2004.

He was legally restrained from being near Reyes after he was accused of assaulting her in February, causing bruises and a torn ligament in her leg, Mesa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Tammy Eret said.

According to what Reyes told the doctor, Zambrano assaulted her after he suspected her of using the telephone without his permission, Eret said.

After the incident Zambrano became increasingly angry with Reyes, Eret said.

The week before her death he tried to buy a gun through a co-worker, and he told someone, “He was going to make sure she (Reyes) didn’t testify against him ... even if he had to kill her,” Eret said.

On the night before her death, Reyes and Zambrano saw each other at a local bar where they drank and were friendly before they were seen leaving together in her van, Eret said.

Zambrano called police just before noon the next day to report his wife was dead, according to an arrest affidavit.

When police arrived, they found Reyes lying on the bed with her arms raised above her head, a scratch on her throat and two broken fingernails, Eret said.

When interviewed by police, Zambrano changed his story several times about what he had been doing the night before Reyes’ death, according to the arrest affidavit.

He said he had gotten a ride home. Then he said he walked, and Reyes showed up at his apartment late that night, Grand Junction Police Department officer Augustine Apolinar Jr. said.

Zambrano also said Reyes showed him some pills that she intended to take, and he then left the apartment to sleep in the car, Apolinar said.

When he woke up the next morning he went inside, saw Reyes and called 911, Apolinar said.

Mesa County’s Chief Deputy Coroner Dean Havlik testified there were no drugs or alcohol in Reyes’ blood, meaning she was alive for several hours after leaving the bar, allowing time for her body to digest the alcohol.

Defense attorney Steve Laiche does not deny Zambrano killed his wife, but he said Zambrano is not guilty of premeditated murder.

“Hector accepts culpability for what he did ... he doesn’t accept culpability for first-degree murder,” Laiche said.

Zambrano was upset about Reyes seeing other men, which led to a fight in which he grabbed her by the throat, Laiche said.

Reyes had married a man when she lived in Mexico and had eight children with him. She moved to the United States with her four oldest children, never divorcing the husband in Mexico, according to arguments made during the pretrial conference.

District Court Judge Amanda Bailey told Laiche he could not introduce Reyes’ past marital history in trial.

Laiche avoided that technicality by describing Reyes’ marriage as a “relationship,” and he told the jury Reyes married Zambrano to stay in the United States without ending her previous relationship.

The father of Reyes’ children visited the United States for a few months, Laiche said. Reyes lived with him while continuing to see Zambrano, until the first man became fed up and moved back to Mexico, Laiche said.

Reyes moved in with Zambrano again, but she left after he assaulted her in February, Laiche said. She continued to carry on a relationship with him, however, keeping it a secret from her children, Laiche said.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,” Laiche said. “In this case, secrets about another man .... what (Reyes) was doing in her other life.”

The night they fought, Zambrano snapped, Laiche said.

“Everything is weighing on Hector ... during the fight Hector put one hand on her throat until he thought she had passed out ... then he gets into the bed and sleeps with her,” Laiche said.

“It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason.”


Emily Morris can be reached via e-mail at emorris@gjds.com.