DNA snafu delays court proceedings

The attorney for a Chula Vista man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death has won a delay in his preliminary hearing because results from DNA evidence are not yet completed.

Michael Rodriguez Chavez, 22, waived his right to a speedy hearing before Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag on May 15. The preliminary hearing was re-set for July 9.

Chavez pleaded not guilty to murdering Yesenia Lynn, 21, on Dec. 1, 2012, at her home in the 1100 block of Morgan

Hill Road in Chula Vista. Chavez was at the scene and Chula Vista police officers persuaded him to leave the residence carrying his 3-year-old daughter.

Police found Lynn’s body in an upstairs bedroom. Because the girl may have witnessed the slaying, Chavez is charged with felony child endangerment. He is also accused of domestic violence in an earlier incident.

Chavez remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility.