BREAKING: Jury finds Adrian Garcia not guilty of killing girlfriend
A jury found Adrian Garcia not guilty of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend in 2013.
Garcia allegedly strangled Alejandra Arango in August 2013. Her mother discovered Arango’s body in a bathtub in their home.
The jury deliberated for about three and a half hours before handing down a verdict.
During closing arguments Wednesday, defense attorneys argued prosecutors had no evidence to prove Garcia is guilty and claimed there was a lack of credibility on the the medical examiner’s part. Dr. Mario Rascon, who performed the autopsy on Arango, was questioned by defense attorneys for more than four hours on his credentials, certifications and his investigative findings.
Rascon told jurors Monday that Arango died from “homicidal violence.” Ruptured blood vessels on victim’s face and eyes indicate “extraneous force” was applied to neck, he said.
Wednesday, the defense argued Rascon might have made a mistake in the autopsy and that there was no physical evidence pointing to Garcia.
Prosecutors, however, argued Garcia was guilty and claimed text messages between Arango and Garcia could prove the man’s guilt. Prosecutors were able to retrieve deleted texts between the two in the days leading up to the murder. Those text messages revealed Garcia allegedly choked Arango “to the point where she threw up” on July 24, 2013.
