The autopsy photos that were shown to the jury in the trial of a man accused of killing a mother and son were so graphic that jurors took a break and a bailiff had to place a trash can next to the jury box.
The tough testimony came before both prosecutors and the defense rested their cases against Gabriel Keith Escalante, 43, who is accused of beating his friend, Alejandro Salinas, 53, to death and asphyxiating his mother, Olivia Salinas, 73, for money the victims won in a settlement.
Escalante is also accused of tampering with evidence by attempting to clean crime scenes with his then-girlfriend, Irene Navejar, 44.
Navejar took the stand for several hours on Thursday, the last day of testimony. She detailed a heinous crime after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
Both Escalate and Navejar were charged with capital murder of multiple persons and tampering with evidence with intent to impair.
They have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors told the jury that Navejar’s testimony was voluntary and that she was granted use immunity, meaning her testimony on Thursday can’t be used against her in a future prosecution.
Navejar cried on the stand as she walked the jury through the final moments of Alex’ and Olivia’s lives.
Escalante and Alex had been smoking crack and drinking at the Salinas residence when Escalante told Alex he had more drugs at his apartment, Navejar said.
According to her testimony, the trio left the Salinas residence and went to Escalante’s home.
Navejar said she was in a bedroom when she heard a scuffle break out between Escalante and Alex.
When she went to investigate, she saw Escalante beating Alex, who was trying to defend himself while asking his friend why he was beating him.
Escalante managed to overpower Alex and pushed him to the floor where Escalante began to slam the back of Alex’s head on the tile.
“That’s when I saw the back of his head bleeding,” Navejar said.
She testified that she begged Escalante to stop, but he pointed a gun at her and ordered her to go outside and lay on the floorboard of his truck.
After an undetermined amount of time, Najevar said Escalante forced her to place Alex’s body in the back of Olivia’s GMC Sierra. Escalante drove around aimlessly, “like he was going crazy,” until they ended up back at the Salinas residence, she said.
Escalante once again forced Navejar into the trailer home where Olivia was and ordered Navejar to look for the money the Salinas family had won in a settlement after being involved in a “fender bender,” according to the co-defendant’s testimony.
Navejar said she ransacked the trailer on Escalante’s orders and that he later beat her and Olivia.
She testified that Escalante tied Olivia’s wrists and forced a bag over her head.
He then placed her in a discarded Ford Explorer they found in the back of the property and left her there to suffocate and die, Navejar said.
The defense questioned inconsistencies between Navejar’s testimony and the initial statements she made after being arrested. On Thursday she told the defense she wasn’t in the right state of mind at the time because of the drug use.
When asked why she didn’t call police or ask for help, she said she was scared of Escalante, who she said threatened to kill her if she didn’t do what he said.
She added that Alex, who she saw as a big brother, was also scared of Escalante which is why he would drive his mother’s truck and carry her gun.
Navejar’s testimony, however, was consistent with the autopsy report which revealed Alex had multiple lacerations and abrasions to his scalp. The extent of the damage dealt to his brain, however, was inconclusive because his body had been too decomposed to determine the cause of death.
And like her son, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday that Olivia’s body was too decomposed to determine her cause of death.
During the expert’s testimony, which included autopsy photos, Escalante looked down the entire time.
On Friday, his fate will be in the hands of the jury.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct information about the kind of immunity granted to Irene Najevar.
