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Update: Xbox murder trial jurors visit crime scene

September 7th, 2010, 10:42 am · 1 Comment · posted by

The crime: On May 8, 2009, Colorado Springs police recovered the partially decomposed body of a 22-year-old developmentally disabled Colorado Springs man who was discovered beneath some branches in a ravine in North Cheyenne Cañon.

The victim: Jason Holley had been missing since January 2009. He had Klinefelter’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder that left him with an extra-x chromosome. The condition left him lacking good judgment and social skills, prosecutors said.

The Defendant: Derek Lee Hernandez, 23, of Colorado Springs.

Prosecution contends: that Hernandez and his brother-in-law Kyle Sebastian Stott lured Holley up to the Cutler trail where they killed him with a knife and an ax, covered the body with branches and stole his Xbox 360 video game system. A separate jury convicted Stott of first-degree murder on July 16. He is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Defense contends: that Stott, 19, is responsible for the murder and that some of Stott’s relatives tried to frame Hernandez after the murder.

What happened Tuesday: Dan Dilts, a Colorado Springs Police Crime Lab technician, showed jurors pictures of the crime scene and the trail leading up to it. Dilts said the body was impossible to see from the trail without standing on a rock outcropping. He also identified items found on the victim including sneakers, sox and the tattered remnants of boxer shorts.

What’s next: The jurors are scheduled to travel out to view the crime scene Wednesday morning. Testimony is expected to conclude later in the day with closing arguments on Thursday.

 

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