Defense: New evidence suggests Hernandez did not shoot and kill KLAQ DJ

Defense attorneys representing Leonel Hernandez, the man accused of shooting and killing a KLAQ DJ Richard Madrigal in 2016, presented new evidence Tuesday it claims shows Hernandez was not the shooter.

Madrigal was shot and killed inside his West El Paso apartment, police say. Marinda Palacios, the woman charged with failing to report Madrigal’s murder to police, has testified she was in a relationship with Hernandez at the time, but spent a night at Madrigal’s apartment the night before he was killed.

Palacios said Hernadez met her at Madrigal’s apartment. Palacios originally told police she heard “two shots” then noticed Madrigal’s body on the floor. In court, however, Palacios testified she saw Hernandez point the gun at Madrigal’s head.

Palacios testified she was too scared to call for help or call the police: “I was going to be next if he (Hernandez) found out I told someone,” the woman said. The defense argued Palacios’ testimony is different than her statement to police when the murder happened because the state is willing to drop her charges.

The defense Tuesday called on Luis Aiken, a crime scene reconstructionist and blood spatter analyst, to testify. Aiken said we was able to calculate the trajectory of the bullet based off the bullet hole on the window and the bullet mark on the brick by the window.

Aiken explains the shooter had to be standing in the hallway, and blood spatter on Hernandez’s pants show he was not standing in the hallway when Madrigal was shot.The state questioned the information Aiken received from police to be able to recreate the crime scene.

Prosecutors asked if any of the documents or pictures were redacted.

Aiken said he didn’t know and all the information given to him by police was, “in his laptop in Austin.”

The state objected to the credibility of Aiken’s testimony because information could have been redacted.

At 9:30 a.m., the judge called for a three-and-a-half hour recess while he decided whether to sustain or overrule the state’s objection.