Marmolejo Retrial: Prosecution, Defense Spar Over Defendant’s Videotape Testimony

A feisty exchange between prosecutors and the defense in the retrial for David Marmolejo took place Thursday afternoon with both sides arguing over the videotaped interview David gave after he was arrested.

And it all happened in front of the jury. David Marmolejo has been charged with murder in the July 2009 homicide of his mother, Gloria Marmolejo.

David limped across the courtroom, making his way to the front row of the benches where the public sits. Sitting down directly next to the jury, it was the only way he could see his videotaped interview with police. His defense attorney and Judge Gonzalo Garcial also took up spots just a few feet away from the jury.

Prosecutors set up the television with the screen facing the jury – and pretty much only the jury. They did this so the jury could hear the low audio – and even then, the jury still complained they couldn’t hear everything.

Instead of showing David’s two-and-a-half interview in its entirety, like they did in the first trial, prosecutors broke down the interview into 16 clips, a move that visibly upset defense attorney Greg Anderson.

He objected several times, arguing that, “It’s prejudicial to my client to pick and choose the things they want the jury to see.”

After some heated arguing back and forth, the judge stood up and decided he had had enough and told the court, “I’m going to put a stop to this. In all fairness, I think the jury should see the whole statement, so that it doesn’t look like things are taken out of context and the jury is not misled.”

El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza countered, saying, “he’s not entitled to tell us how to present our case.”

The judge heard both sides pleas but refused to budge.

In the end, the judge told prosecutors they could show the entire video and then break that video down in the clips.

Because it is such a lengthy interview, proceedings are getting started extra early Friday.

It was a slow-moving morning in the retrial filled with hours of testimony about the layout of El Paso and a brief, but grisly account from the woman who discovered Gloria’s body in the Santa Teresa desert.

The jury is made up of Bexar County residents, who may not be familiar with El Paso and its layout. One El Paso Police officer spent much of the time going over a map that showed the different parts of El Paso.

Using a map and a marker, officer Vico Granillo showed jurors where East El Paso was in relation to Northeast El Paso, the Anthony Gap and the Santa Teresa desert where Gloria’s body was discovered.

The prosecution has not explained to the jury the significance of the link between these locations. In the first trial, Mariah Wilson testified about the different routes she and David took as they traveled to and from the desert. Wilson is David’s stepsister and girlfriend at the time of Gloria’s death.

Also on the witness stand this morning was Helen Edwards, the woman who discovered Gloria’s body.

She testified it was her dog that alerted her to the body.

“As he was walking by the body, he flicked his head to the side. I looked where he was looking and saw it. My mind just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Edwards said.

Edwards saw the feet of Gloria sticking out from a bush. During this time, David took off his glasses and looked away from the pictures of the crime scene.

Thursday morning, Judge Gonzalo Garcia told the jury they should expect to be in court on Saturday. Through a note, the jury told the judge they would rather work late than come in on the weekend.

The judge said he would consider the different options.