Accused killer's fate up to jury

A sadistic killer who kidnapped a 27-year-old woman and burned her alive over a pound of stolen pot?

Or a man on trial based on the testimony of a jailhouse informant and a meth addict with little credibility?

Those questions are before five men and seven women in the trial of Luis Alberto Valencia, who's accused of the 2007 murder of Rosa Avina. Jurors heard closing arguments from attorneys in the case Friday. Jury deliberations are expected to resume Tuesday.

Valencia is one of four men accused of kidnapping Avina from a Turlock neighborhood the night of Oct. 23, 2007. She was taken to a rural area in Ballico, placed in an abandoned boat, doused with gasoline and burned alive. She died in a hospital from her extensive burns. The other suspects, Alvaro Montanez Reyes, Omar Cebrero and Urbano Ortega, are being tried separately.

Deputy District Attorney Steven Slocum outlined how Valencia conspired with the other defendants to kill Avina, using a plastic bottle filled with gasoline to light her on fire. Slocum said the crime was done to inflict "extreme and prolonged pain" upon Avina, saying the photographs from her autopsy are too grotesque to show jurors.

Avina's injuries were so extreme, even her larynx was burned from inhaling gasoline fumes. "If there was ever first degree murder, this is it," Slocum said.

A key part of the prosecution's case centered upon the testimony of Luis Vazquez, an associate of Valencia's who allegedly took part in Avina's kidnapping.

Slocum summarized Vazquez's testimony for jurors, how he went with Valencia to a residence on Clifford Avenue in Turlock and kidnapped Avina at gunpoint with a deer rifle.

She was driven to a house in the 8000 block of Sycamore Street in Delhi. There, Valencia, Cebrero and Ortega drove away with Avina in the trunk, Vazquez testified.

Later that same night, Valencia shared with Vazquez how he poured the gasoline on Avina, while one of his partners lit her on fire. "All of Vazquez's testimony is corroborated by other witness statements and the evidence," Slocum told jurors.

Vazquez's testimony isn't the only evidence against Valencia, Slocum said. After his arrest back in 2007, Valencia made a frantic phone call from the Merced County jail to his wife, asking her to get rid of a ring he'd taken from Avina during the kidnapping. After Valencia made that phone call, Merced County sheriff's detectives obtained that ring from his wife and logged it as evidence.

Also, a Merced County jailhouse informant testified during trial Valencia openly bragged about burning Avina alive. Slocum said the informant was offered no special deal in exchange for his testimony.

The defense, however, claimed the case is plagued with reasonable doubt.

David Capron, Valencia's attorney, said even Vazquez, the prosecution's star witness, by his own admission said he was a heavy meth user at the time of the murder, and had been awake for more than three days.

Vazquez also admitted to being "spaced out" and having hallucinations, Capron said. "Can you trust the testimony of someone who described their condition like that?" Capron asked jurors.

Capron also mentioned how Vazquez made a deal with the prosecution, agreeing to testify against Valencia and the other defendants in exchange for nine years, four months in prison on kidnapping and burglary charges. Vazquez was originally arrested along with the others as a suspect in the case. "It's easy for him, in order to save his own skin, to spin it off onto someone else," Capron said.

As for the inmate who claimed Valencia bragged in jail about killing Avina, Capron said that man has been in and out of correctional facilities since age 9. Capron also pointed out the informant has had four felony convictions in the past decade. Capron claimed the inmate made up the story about Valencia after reading about the case in the newspaper. "He's a con," Capron said. "He's a career criminal. He says things when it benefits him."

Capron pointed out Department of Justice investigators found a single partial fingerprint on the plastic Coke bottle -- but it didn't belong to Valencia or any of the other defendants. Capron suggested the fingerprint could mean there's a suspect in the case who hasn't been captured.

Capron added although Avina's blood was found in the trunk of a gray Pontiac registered to Cebrero, there's no DNA from his client in the case.

Avina suffered from second and third degree burns over more than 60 percent of her body. She died in a Santa Clara County hospital two days after she was found by detectives.

An undocumented immigrant, Valencia is charged with first degree murder with special circumstances for torture, kidnapping and mayhem. He's also facing a felony count of kidnapping with an enhancement for using a firearm. He remains at the Merced County Jail without bail and faces a maximum of life in prison, if convicted.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.