Prosecutors, defense debate the meaning of ‘last favor' in murder case
Tommy Ezquerdo had chilling words for Maria De Jesus Magaña several weeks before she was brutally strangled and stabbed to death inside her Pleasant Street home last December, according to Wednesday's trial testimony in Oneida County Court.
Ezquerdo and Luis Danny Hernandez both stand trial this week for robbing and killing Magaña, but most of Wednesday's testimony focused specifically on allegations related to Ezquerdo.
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When Magaña told Ezquerdo in early December 2006 that she no longer wanted his packages to be delivered to the Magaña home, Ezquerdo told her, "Don't worry, this is the last favor you're going to do for me," 14-year-old Juan Magaña Jr. recalled.
About two weeks later, Magaña Jr. would return home from school to discover his mother's body on the kitchen floor.
"I saw my mom facing down in a puddle of blood," Magaña Jr. told jurors, his voice soft-spoken and emotionless. Magaña Jr. turned his mother face-up and discovered duct tape wrapped around her mouth, he said.
"I tried to pull it off with my hands, but it was too tight," Magaña Jr. said.
When Magaña's husband and son testified in front of Judge Michael L. Dwyer, they both recalled encounters with Ezquerdo that prosecutors claim foreshadowed the deadly encounter that would occur Dec. 19, 2006.
After the Magañas moved into Ezquerdo's old apartment at 141 Pleasant St., Ezquerdo asked Juan Magaña Sr. if he could have a computer and television delivered to their address, Magaña Sr. testified. Although Magaña Sr. was reluctant at first, he agreed to accept the deliveries.
But Maria Magaña was less willing, and she told Ezquerdo to have his packages delivered elsewhere.
During cross-examination, Ezquerdo's defense attorney, John Leonard, focused on varying accounts of the conversation between Ezquerdo and an upset Maria Magaña.
Magana Jr. told jurors that Ezquerdo made the prophetic comment to his mother, while Magaña Sr. offered contradictory testimony that it was his wife who told Ezquerdo "it was the last favor they would do for him."
Hernandez's attorney, Christopher Pelli, had few questions for either Magaña Sr. or his son. But there's one question he consistently asked nearly every witness to show that Hernandez has had no association with the Magaña family.
After Pelli asked Hernandez to stand up in court, both Magañas said they have never seen the man before in their lives.
Beyond the tragedy of finding his mother's bloody body, Magaña Jr. also recalled an incident that prosecutors believe links Ezquerdo, Hernandez and a third defendant - Yeshua Camacho Figueroa - to the plot to rob and kill Magaña.
Camacho Figueroa has already been found guilty of murder, robbery and conspiracy after an October trial, and he is due to be sentenced Dec. 20.
The night before Magaña's death, Magaña Jr. was home with his father when a hooded man knocked at the door and asked for Ezquerdo's girlfriend, he testified. Magaña Jr. said she no longer lived there.
About 30 minutes later, three hooded figures then knocked on the front door. Magaña Jr. didn't answer this time, and he did not see any faces or hear any voices, Magaña Jr. said.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza and Assistant District Attorney Douglas DeMarche Jr. are arguing that those three figures were Ezquerdo, Hernandez, and Camacho Figueroa. All three had planned to rob Magaña that night, prosecutors say, but they changed their minds when they realized Magaña Jr. was home.
When Pelli questioned Magaña Jr., however, he highlighted that the teenager could not determine the race of any of the people he had seen on his porch that night.
"I don't remember, it was really dark," Magaña Jr. said.
When testimony continues today, prosecutors are expected to call a witness - Joel Mateo - who will offer details about the gruesome robbery plot.
Observer-Dispatch