08-10-2009, 10:57 PM
By Malaika Fraley
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 08/10/2009 03:25:13 PM PDT
Updated: 08/10/2009 05:24:50 PM PDT
MARTINEZ ââ¬â Jury deliberations began Monday afternoon in the trial of a Concord restaurant worker who said a worldwide organization that speaks to him through televisions commanded him to fatally stab his boss five years ago.
Aureilo Estrada Diaz, 43, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the July 12, 2004, killing of Justo Ibarra-Ramirez at the Todos Santos Restaurant, inside the Monte Gardens shopping center on Willow Pass Road.
If he is convicted, jurors will hear testimony about his mental health at a second trial. It will be the defense's burden to prove Diaz was insane at the time of the killing ââ¬â a claim disputed by prosecutors. They said Diaz held a grudge against Ibarra-Ramirez, his boss and landlord, for controlling his finances.
One doctor has already testified for the defense that Diaz is a paranoid psychotic who can't distinguish between reality and fantasy.
"I can communicate with the people on the television the same way I can communicate with you," Diaz said through a Spanish interpreter last week on the witness stand. "In reality, they are a large organization that is worldwide. They said if I didn't kill Justo, they'd kill me."
In closing arguments, deputy district attorney Gerald Chang said called Diaz's story a "fabrication" invented as a defense years after the killing.
Diaz killed because he was long angry and frustrated at his employer for paying him $100 a month ââ¬â far
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less than minimum wage ââ¬â for shifts at the restaurant exceeding 40 hours a week, Chang said.
Ibarra-Ramirez, 53, was also Diaz's landlord, letting the Mexican immigrant live in units undergoing renovations at the Devonshire Apartments, which he owned across the street. Further angering Diaz, when payday would come, Ibarra-Ramirez would press him to send his money to family members in Mexico, Chang said.
Diaz's also became upset the day of the killing when Ibarra-Ramirez laughed at Diaz when he asked for $20, Chang said. He offered him $5, which Diaz refused out of pride, Chang said.
Diaz returned to the restaurant after closing and made himself a burrito. Diaz said he was commanded to kill Ibarra-Ramirez while watching TV during the meal. He bought his plate to the kitchen, picked up a dirty chef's knife and stabbed his boss once in the heart in front of another employee. Afterward, he walked to a gas station and bought a beer.
Defense attorney Ellen McDonnell told jurors that the impulsive and bizarre act constitutes manslaughter, not murder, because Diaz was in fear for his own life. "He is not a murderer. He genuinely believed he was defending himself," McDonnell said.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_...ck_check=1
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 08/10/2009 03:25:13 PM PDT
Updated: 08/10/2009 05:24:50 PM PDT
MARTINEZ ââ¬â Jury deliberations began Monday afternoon in the trial of a Concord restaurant worker who said a worldwide organization that speaks to him through televisions commanded him to fatally stab his boss five years ago.
Aureilo Estrada Diaz, 43, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the July 12, 2004, killing of Justo Ibarra-Ramirez at the Todos Santos Restaurant, inside the Monte Gardens shopping center on Willow Pass Road.
If he is convicted, jurors will hear testimony about his mental health at a second trial. It will be the defense's burden to prove Diaz was insane at the time of the killing ââ¬â a claim disputed by prosecutors. They said Diaz held a grudge against Ibarra-Ramirez, his boss and landlord, for controlling his finances.
One doctor has already testified for the defense that Diaz is a paranoid psychotic who can't distinguish between reality and fantasy.
"I can communicate with the people on the television the same way I can communicate with you," Diaz said through a Spanish interpreter last week on the witness stand. "In reality, they are a large organization that is worldwide. They said if I didn't kill Justo, they'd kill me."
In closing arguments, deputy district attorney Gerald Chang said called Diaz's story a "fabrication" invented as a defense years after the killing.
Diaz killed because he was long angry and frustrated at his employer for paying him $100 a month ââ¬â far
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less than minimum wage ââ¬â for shifts at the restaurant exceeding 40 hours a week, Chang said.
Ibarra-Ramirez, 53, was also Diaz's landlord, letting the Mexican immigrant live in units undergoing renovations at the Devonshire Apartments, which he owned across the street. Further angering Diaz, when payday would come, Ibarra-Ramirez would press him to send his money to family members in Mexico, Chang said.
Diaz's also became upset the day of the killing when Ibarra-Ramirez laughed at Diaz when he asked for $20, Chang said. He offered him $5, which Diaz refused out of pride, Chang said.
Diaz returned to the restaurant after closing and made himself a burrito. Diaz said he was commanded to kill Ibarra-Ramirez while watching TV during the meal. He bought his plate to the kitchen, picked up a dirty chef's knife and stabbed his boss once in the heart in front of another employee. Afterward, he walked to a gas station and bought a beer.
Defense attorney Ellen McDonnell told jurors that the impulsive and bizarre act constitutes manslaughter, not murder, because Diaz was in fear for his own life. "He is not a murderer. He genuinely believed he was defending himself," McDonnell said.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_...ck_check=1