Jurors in Gonzalez trial saw autopsy photos Thursday

Jurors in the capital murder trial of Juan “Johnny” Gonzalez were shown graphic autopsy photos during the second day of testimony Thursday.

Gonzalez is accused of the beating death of El Paso Police Officer Jonathan Molina in September 2012. On Thursday, prosecutors lost the chance of questioning one of the key witnesses in the case, Gonzalez’s friend Tony Gomez, whom witnesses on the stand said is the one Gonzalez was standing up for against Officer Molina. Gomez told the court that he would, “plead the 5th,” which is his right to remain silent, to any questions asked of him.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Officer Molina, Doctor Juan Contin, testified. He told jurors that blunt force injury to the head was the cause of death, which prosecutors argued was done when Gonzalez took down Officer Molina by grabbing him behind his knees, resulting in his feet coming off the ground. Defense attorneys said Officer Molina could have fell due to uneven sidewalk pavement.

Pictures of the scene with a pile of blood on a house carport were shown but the most graphic were those of the fractured skull of Officer Molina, when his scalp was removed.

Doctor Contin said,”His (Molina’s) brain was so soft, it collapsed when we removed the skull. It was severe injuries. Based on what I read and degree of the injury, I think he was brain dead from day one.”

Gomez, the lost witness from Thursday, was allegedly the one who started the confrontation between the off-duty, out of uniform officer and the three boys because he was accused of scratching Molina’s car with a metal object. The capital murder trial resumes tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., in Judge Angie Barill’s courtroom.