Caution statement ruled inadmissible in Santos Zepeda, Angel Garcia trial for 2020 murder of Rosa Chinchilla
By Breaking Belize News Staff: The murder trial of two men accused of killing 59-year-old Rosa Chinchilla is set to begin on Friday morning before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court. Santos Eduardo Lopez Zepeda, 25, and Angel Adolfo Garcia Alvarez are on remand at the Belize Central Prison, charged jointly for Chinchilla’s murder. […] The post Caution statement ruled inadmissible in Santos Zepeda, Angel Garcia trial for 2020 murder of Rosa Chinchilla appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
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By Breaking Belize News Staff: The murder trial of two men accused of killing 59-year-old Rosa Chinchilla is set to begin on Friday morning before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court.
Santos Eduardo Lopez Zepeda, 25, and Angel Adolfo Garcia Alvarez are on remand at the Belize Central Prison, charged jointly for Chinchilla’s murder. The trial is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. and will proceed as a trial by judge alone.
Before the trial could begin, a voir dire was held to determine whether a caution statement allegedly given by Alvarez to police would be admitted into evidence. That voir dire concluded late Wednesday, with Justice Pilgrim ruling the statement inadmissible.
During the hearing, the court viewed a recording of the caution statement, which was reportedly given in Spanish. According to information presented, Alvarez had allegedly asked for an attorney during the police interview. The court heard that a police officer made remarks which Justice Pilgrim found amounted to a violation of Alvarez’s right to legal counsel.
The Crown had sought to have the video recording admitted into evidence, but the recording reportedly lasted about one hour and required a word-for-word translation from Spanish. The voir dire was eventually aborted by the Crown, after which the judge ruled that Alvarez’s caution statement could not be used in the trial.
Alvarez is being represented by attorney Dr. Lynden Jones, while Zepeda is being represented by attorney Erin Quiros.
Chinchilla, a resident of #34 Lindo’s Alley, Belize City, was found dead inside her home on Monday, August 17, 2020. She was discovered with a cut wound to the neck.
It is alleged that Zepeda inflicted the fatal wound using a knife he obtained from Alvarez, which led to both men being jointly charged with murder.
The post Caution statement ruled inadmissible in Santos Zepeda, Angel Garcia trial for 2020 murder of Rosa Chinchilla appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
