Witness: Jealousy possibly to blame for murder of KLAQ DJ
Emotional testimony from a young woman whose mother claimed to have witnessed a deadly shooting marked the start of the murder trial for Leonel Hernandez.
Hernandez is charged with shooting Richard Madrigal, a former KLAQ DJ, on June 11 , 2016. The courtroom of Judge Marco Lizarraga was standing-room only as friends and family of the victim and the defendant filled the benches for the first day of the trial.
The jury heard from Isis Lozoya, the state’s first witness. Lozoya, who testified that her mother was dating Hernandez and was also Madrigal’s friend, said she couldn’t get ahold of her mother around 10 p.m. the night of June 11 .
A murmur went through the crowded courtroom as text messages between Lozoya and her mother were put on display. The prosecutor asked Lozoya to explain what caught everyone’s attention: the 20-year-old, who was 17 at the time, had saved her mother’s phone number with the name “Satan.” “It was a joke,” Lozoya said. “We saw it in a movie and thought it would be funny to copy it.”
The texts shown by the prosecution were from around 6:45 a.m. on June 12 . “I’m so scared,” Lozoya’s mom texted. Then immediately, “Babe! Why,” Lozoya responded. “I think Leo killed Rick. I’m not joking. I don’t know what to do.”
Lozoya began to choke up on the stand as she said they then spoke on the phone. Her mother didn’t want her to go get her because it was too dangerous, she said, and that when she asked her why Leonel killed Rick, her mom told her that it might have been jealousy. Lozoya added that her mom apologized that all of this was happening on Lozoya’s high school graduation day.
According to the next text messages that were brought into evidence, Lozoya’s mother asked her daughter not to tell anyone what happened, and that she couldn’t leave because Hernandez was her ride home, despite Lozoya’s pleas. Lozoya also testified that her mother did not call 911.
According to ABC-7 archives, Lozoya’s mother Marinda Palacios is charged with failing to report a felony. An affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states Palacios
In opening arguments, the lead prosecutor Stacy Scofield told the jury that Palacios has agreed to testify in the trial and in exchange, the charges against her will be dropped.
In cross-examination, the defense pointed out that Lozoya’s mother didn’t say anything about being scared in their text message exchange around 11 p.m. on June 11 . Court documents have indicated that Madrigal was shot in the early evening of June 11 .
The jury on Thursday also heard from Alexis Dominguez, a friend of Madrigal’s who discovered his body inside his apartment on the 4100 block of Westside.
