Third Day of Daniel Villegas murder trial: Both state and defense rested, jury deliberating

The state and defense rested their cases Thursday on the third day of the third Daniel Villegas murder trial. Once the state rested, the defense asked the judge for a directed verdict.

Defense lawyers did not call for any witnesses. They also say that the state failed to provide a scintilla of evidence.

According to defense lawyers, much of the testimony showed witnesses were coerced by police into saying Villegas admitted to them he did it or that they were forced to say Villegas committed the murders with the threat of going to jail.

Oscar Gomez was called by the state to the stand to show a video where he told police that Villegas told him he had committed the murders.

In an interview with Gomez and police, Gomez said, “I asked him did you do it, he said yes, and he had a grin.”

But when Gomez told police, he could not remember how Villegas responded. Gomez testified he was threatened with jail time for outstanding traffic tickets.

ABC-7’s Saul Saenz caught up with Villegas’s lawyer in this interview:

Closing arguments are done and the jury will continue to deliberate Friday.