Sister of victim forgives murderer

Aviles

tained they had met every element, and he implied that Urrutia was trying to confuse jurors that premeditation was required for a capital murder conviction.

“You can infer specific intent to kill from use of a deadly weapon,” Bishop said. “You don’t have to have a motive, you don’t even have to have premeditation.”

Bishop reminded the jurors of forensic evidence that showed Aviles was closer to Maria Hurtado than he was to Norma, and that the elder Hurtado did not die in a dynamic field of fire while trying to protect her daughter in their Southeast Austin home.

“(Aviles) drew you a picture,” Bishop said, showing the panel a photo of the crime scene. “He showed his intent. She dropped where she stood. ... Maria Hurtado dropped in her tracks.”

Earlier Wednesday, jurors saw a lengthy video interview of Aviles with police investigators in which he acknowledged he would have kept shooting — Norma Hurtado was shot at least eight times in the back alone — had he not run out of rounds.

“The only thing that stopped him was he only had 14 rounds in a 15round magazine,” Bishop said.

After the verdict was read, a Hurtado family member who did not give her name but said through an interpreter that she was Norma’s sister, addressed the defendant.

“In the name of Norma and my mother, I forgive you for all the damage you’ve done to us. ... There is a God who is going to be in charge of this,” she said. “You damaged a lot of us.”