WEST PALM BEACH — By the time the shooting stopped along Florida’s Turnpike in the early hours of Oct. 13, 2006, 27 gunshot wounds covered the bodies of the Escobedo family.

Treasure Coast Medical Examiner Roger Mittleman spent most of the first full day of testimony in the trial surrounding their deaths accounting for each of those wounds in detail while jurors stared at dozens of autopsy photos.

Yessica Escobedo, 25, received the most wounds, shot 11 times. Her husband, Jose Luis, 28, had five wounds to his face, abdomen, genitals and leg. Luis Julian, 4, had six wounds, including a shot to his head that likely killed him instantly.

According to Mittleton, though, the boy’s younger brother Luis Damian, 3, was not as fortunate. He had five wounds and died, though not instantly, from the bullet that tore through both of his lungs, filling his airway with blood. Mittleman described it as “a suffocating-type death, drowning in one’s own blood.”

“Is there suffering in that?” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kastenakes asked.
“Yes, there is suffering. Certainly,” Mittleman responded.
Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya could receive the death penalty if convicted of the carjacking charges that led to the Escobedos’ deaths.
Two others, Danny Varela and Liana Lopez, face possible life sentences if convicted on related drug conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors say Jose Luis Escobedo provided a connection to large quantities of cocaine that fueled a drug ring Varela headed. They allege Sanchez and Troya killed the family to erase a drug debt and steal 15 kilograms of cocaine.
Attorneys on both sides presented opening arguments in the trial Tuesday. Prosecutors on Wednesday questioned a detective and a turnpike official while going over turnpike toll receipts and video of the Escobedo’s Jeep Cherokee and another van passing through toll booths on the night of the killings.
Investigators linked Troya and Sanchez to the deaths through finger and palm prints lifted from the toll receipts.
Juros also heard testimony from Melvin Fernandez, a friend of Troya’s who testified that a day after the killings Troya told him that he had robbed someone for cocaine and purchased a 1973 convertible Chevrolet Impala at some point afterward.
Testimony in the case is expected to continue Thursday. The trial could last up to three months.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Courts, Crime, Escobedo trial, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.