Jurors stepped out of the courtroom and onto a bus to view the scenes crucial to the high-profile case for a man who was once one of America's most wanted fugitives.
Day three of the case ended with jurors riding through downtown Reading. They were taken to the parking lot where Barbara Torres was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2005.
Then, it was off to the parking lot on Poplar Street, where Barbie's white Cadillac Escalade was found.
Prosecutors are trying to convict Miguel Torres of first degree murder more than nine years after his estranged wife was shot and killed outside her work.
Jonathan Kurland, chief deputy district attorney, alleged Torres dumped the SUV in the lot moments after the cold-blooded killing, then fled the city in a van.
Eric Huber, owner of Huber Auto Rental, which was located in Lititz, Lancaster County, testified Torres rented a 1999 Chevrolet Express the morning of the murder. Huber said Torres provided a driver's license, proof of insurance and a major credit card to pay for the van, which was equipped with a bed.
"He said he was going on vacation," said Huber, who told the court the vacation was set to last 21 days.
Torres left his Lexus in the rental store's lot and said a family member would pick it up, Huber testified.
The van was found several months later, in 2006, at LaGuardia Airport in New York. A port authority officer told the court the van was abandoned and put in the impound lot. The Reading Police Department was contacted, and they investigated the scene at the airport in April 2006.
Four days after the murder, investigators with the Berks County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force responded to a Walmart near Huber Auto Rental. An investigator testified several items were purchased at the store with Torres' credit card a few hours before Barbie was killed. The investigator said Torres was seen on surveillance video buying duct tape, rope, cable ties, a knife and Vaseline.
During cross examination, Torres' attorney, Robert Kirwan, asked the investigator why they did not obtain a copy of the video. The investigator responded, "We were attempting to find him."
The jury also listened to hours of testimony from the victim's loved ones, who painted Torres as an abusive and possessive husband.
Raul Rivera, Barbie's stepfather, testified he was with Torres, driving together and looking for Barbie after she moved out of the couple's home.
"He pulled out a pistol and said, 'When we get there, if I see her with someone else, I'll kill him and I'll kill her,"' Rivera testified through a translator.
Kirwan grilled Rivera on his testimony and fired back this claim was never reported to police until almost nine years later.
Diana Rivera-O'Bryant, Barbie's aunt, told the court Barbie was upset and discussed their marital problems with her. She said her niece told her Mikey gets jealous, and one time he was so mad he put a gun in her mouth.
"If you ever try to leave me or leave this house again without my permission, I'm going to blow your brains out," Rivera-O'Bryant testified.
Rivera-O'Bryant said she tried to persuade her niece to file a protection from abuse order, but Barbie said she didn't want to because of Torres' stance in the community. He was a real-estate agent.
Kirwan fired questions at Rivera-O'Braynt about Barbie's affair with a married man and asked her why she waited nine years to tell police about it.
Next on the stand was Barbie's sister, Alicia Lebron. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw a picture of her sister. Lebron told the jury she went to the courthouse with Barbie a few days before she was murdered to file a PFA. She said Barbie was unable to fill it out because she was shaking, so she filled it out for her.
Lebron also read a letter aloud to the court, which was written in Miguel Torres' handwriting. The letter was written a few weeks before the murder, and after Barbie filed for divorce. The letter was found in their Exeter Township home.
"I hope you can all forgive me. Pray for me. I hope God forgives me," she read. "I'm sorry for what I've done. I couldn't take it anymore."
Torres went on to profess his love for Barbie. He said he felt alone in their home by himself and slept with her blouse to be close to her.
"Barbie, before I go any further, I want you to know I love you with all my heart. I need you. I miss you so much," Lebron read.
During cross examination, Kirwan told the court Barbie did not tell her sister everything, including the affair.
Lebron gave Torres a death stare after she walked off the stand.
Torres spent years on the run. He became the target of an international manhunt until his arrest in Italy in 2013.
Testimony will resume Thursday morning.
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1zZHegr
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