Backyard burial trial set today for Port St. Lucie man accused of killing, burying his wife
August 17th, 2009 by TCPalm.comFORT PIERCE — After Julia Rolon-Estrada died of a gunshot wound to the artery in her leg on July 26, 2006, she was wrapped in a blue tarp and again in a green blanket before being buried in the yard of her Port St. Lucie home, near a rear sliding glass door.
A dog trained to find cadavers helped authorities locate the newly tilled grave, which was covered with a wooden pallet holding 20 mulch bags stacked on top.
Rolon-Estrada’s jailed husband, 43-year-old Albert Estrada, state prosecutors say, is the man guilty of killing his wife and high-school sweatheart, who had walked out on him the night before she died at age 39.
Jury selection begins today for his first-degree murder trial, with St. Lucie Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn presiding.
Estrada, who is also charged with tampering with evidence, could face the death penalty if convicted.
He has pleaded not guilty and in a 2007 handwritten letter addressed to the court, Estrada claimed the shooting was an accident that happened as he and his wife argued and then struggled with a gun. He claimed he had nothing to do with her burial in the yard of their Rainier Road home.
Ask Rosa Rolon-Gonzalez, though, and the expected two-week trial isn’t about the man she described as displaying a history of abusive behavior.
It’s about getting justice for her sister, Rolon-Estrada, who was known in their extended family as “the one everybody went to for everything.”
“My sister was my world … she was like the mediator of the family,” recalled Rolon-Gonzalez, 34, from her home in Orlando, where she works as a 911 dispatcher.
“She was buried in the backyard like a dog; she didn’t deserve that.”
Rolon-Gonzalez said she still doesn’t know why her sister returned to the home she’d shared with Estrada after she finished her medical technician job and before she went to a night shift at a medical supply firm. The night before, Rolon-Estrada had moved out and declared the marriage over.
Rolon-Gonzalez said she rejects Estrada’s claim the shooting was an accident.
“If he cared very much about her, he would have called 911 … and if you’re still worried about getting caught, then run,” she said. “I believe in my heart that he did hurt my sister.”
Records show at the Estrada home police found blood droplets in the laundry room, kitchen, dining areas, hallway and spare bathroom. The same type of blue tape and black cloth cord found binding the body also was recovered.
When he was arrested for murder, Estrada already was in the St. Lucie County jail on a charge of assaulting his then-girlfriend July 25, 2006 for allegedly holding a gun to her head at her South Indian River Drive home.
Rolon-Gonzalez said her parents, her two brothers and Rolon-Estrada’s grown daughter, who are expected to attend the trial, still grieve.
“There’s still hurt feelings,” she said. “We’re still going through this every day.”
By Melissa E. Holsman
Tags: accident, arrest, assault, author, body, brother, cadaver, court, death, dies, dining, dog, dogs, driving, glass, green, gun, guns, gunshot, history, holdings, jail, jobs, judge, jury, leg, man, mediation, medical, murder, murders, orlando, parents, police, roads, shooting, sister, train, trial, wife, yard
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August 17th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Whoever is reporting should get some dates straight. He was already in jail(7/25/06) when his wife was killed(7/26/09).
August 17th, 2009 at 11:51 am
que, He assaulted his GF on 7/25/06 and shot his wife on 7/26/06. Apparently he was arrested several days after but the author of the story seemed to leave that part out.
August 17th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Ahh, those hot-blooded hispanics–who can’t handle rejection by women. Are their egos so very fragile? Is it cultural? Genetic? What’s the deal with that?
August 17th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
“Que,” you need reading comprehension lessons.
It’s quite common that someone is in jail when the police finally put together evidence of a crime that the person committed prior to getting put in jail. The police then go to the jail and serve the charges upon the person.
This is not a case of Estrada being in jail when his wife was murdered; that’s just where he was when they went to charge him with it. Read the sentence again: “When he was arrested for murder, Estrada already was in the St. Lucie County jail on a charge of assaulting his then-girlfriend July 25, 2006 for allegedly holding a gun to her head at her South Indian River Drive home.” Nothing about that says that jail is where he was when she was shot.
This guy sounds like a real prince among men. I hope sincerely that he gets the needle. Mongrel needs to be put down like a sick dog.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:14 am
PJay, I strongly believe that this is not a ‘hot blooded hispanic’ issue that you suspect may be genetic. The deal here is that both of these people were together for a very long time and their relationship being strained to the point of it possibly being over obviously caused a great deal of distress to both of them. Unfortunately, the suspect acted out horribly and did the unthinkable to his life long partner. You can tell that he was not thinking straight the whole time because after all this time together, he buried her on the backyard. I am sure he would wanted something better for her but in times of insanity and sheer desperation, humans do things that will defy rationality as long as it guarantees survival. Egos, culture or genetics arent to blame, the criminal is.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Rob,
“he buried her in the backyard. I am sure he would have wanted something better for her”??? She had left him and declared the marriage over the day before.
With the girlfriend assaulted (and he held a gun to her head)… I’ll bet the girlfriend had called the wife and told her what was going on.