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April 22, 2009 Closing arguments today in transgender murder trialPosted: 09:13 AM ET
GREELEY, Colorado–Jurors are expected to begin deliberations this afternoon in the first-degree murder trial of Allen Andrade, accused of bludgeoning to death a transgender woman last July. Andrade concedes he killed eighteen-year-old Angie Zapata within days of meeting her on a networking website. He says he became enraged when he learned that Zapata was biologically a male.
Angie Zapata, left, and Allen Andrade Prosecutors, however, presented evidence that Andrade knew long before the killing that he was with a transgender female. He’s also charged with bias-motivated crime, Colorado’s hate crime statute, car theft, and identity theft. Since the identity of the killer is not the issue, jurors will have to decide Andrade’s level of criminal responsibility. They will be given an array of homicide charges to consider. Besides first-degree murder, they can consider lesser charges of second-degree murder, second-degree murder with provocation, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide. The prosecution wrapped up its evidence Tuesday afternoon. Andrade’s former girlfriend, Felicia Mendoza, returned to the stand to complete testimony begun Monday. She gazed at her former lover as more recorded jailhouse calls between them were played in court. In one call, Andrade is heard telling her that “gay things need to die.” On cross-examination, Mendoza assured the jury that Andrade is not bisexual even though she found him chatting with people on the bisexual side of the MocoSpace networking website where he met Zapata. The final witness for the state was the lead detective, Greg Tharp. Only part of Tharp’s videotaped interrogation of Andrade was played for the jury. Judge Kopcow suppressed Andrade’s confession to the killing, but allowed the first part in which Andrade admitted to stealing Zapata’s car and using a stolen debit card he found inside. Tharp also told jurors that there were more than 650 text messages and calls between Andrade and Zapata between July 12, 2008 and July 16, 2008. There were none by July 17, the day Zapata was killed. On cross-examination, the defense displayed 11 photos of Zapata Tharp received from Zapata’s family shortly after the killing. With each photo, Tharp was asked to identify Justin. Since Andrade opted not to testify, the defense case was brief. Five witnesses were called to support what the defense says is a matter of deception, not a judgment of a way of life. These witnesses—friends, acquaintances and detectives who interviewed Zapata’s family members–say that Zapata was a convincing female; that she lived her life as a woman from the clothes she wore, to her makeup and hairstyles and décor in her apartment. In Session’s coverage of the trial continues this morning. Beth Karas, In Session correspondent Filed under: Uncategorized |
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