A jury hearing the fratricide case against an Eastlake man accused of killing his younger brother in 2013 has seen the bent barbecue fork and samurai sword that were used to kill the victim.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Karkenny showed the murder weapons in a plastic case to a nine man, three woman jury when he gave his opening statement Jan. 28 in Chula Vista Superior Court.
Alberto Gonzalez Figueroa, 37, is on trial for the April 2, 2013, slaying of Mario Gonzalez Figueroa, 23, who bled to death in the family’s condominium in the 2700 block of Lakeridge Circle in Chula Vista.
Karkenny said the victim was stabbed 38 times and both his lungs and heart were punctured. Mario Figueroa was asleep on the floor at the time. Karkenny said the fork tines and the sword actually were found bent when they cut through his body and struck the floor.
Alberto Figueroa was 50 pounds heavier and 11 years older than his brother, said the prosecutor. The defendant is also accused of committing torture in the attack.
The brothers’ 89-year-old grandfather was home at the time and heard the brother’s screams, but Alberto Figueroa took a cellphone away from his grandfather during the attack, said Karkenny. The grandfather then went next door to call the police.
Attorney Solomon Rouston, who represents Alberto Figueroa, told jurors that both men exchanged words in the hallway when one bumped into the other. Rouston said it was Mario Figueroa who raised the sword and fork to his older brother.
“Alberto defended himself out of fear and fight,” said Rouston, who said the brothers wrestled on the floor. “My client feared for his life.”
Rouston told jurors he would be asking them to find his client not guilty of both murder and torture.
Darnell Hosch, a woman who was walking her dog that morning, testified she saw Alberto Figueroa ride a bicycle past her and noticed blood on him.
“He had blood going down his right leg. He looked nervous,” said Hosch. “He was trying to hurry out of the complex.”
On Wednesday the prosecution finished presenting their case and the defense started theirs.
Alberto Figueroa has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail without bail.
