Trial opens for man accused of murder
Jurors are told their job will be difficult
A 29-year-old San Antonio man stabbed to death in 2015 sold drugs to and was the lover of the man accused in his death, attorneys said during opening statements as the murder trial of David Asa Villarreal opened Tuesday.
Villarreal, who pleaded not guilty, was 29 when he was arrested and accused of killing Aaron Estrada, also 29, on Oct. 16, 2015.
Estrada was stabbed multiple times and died in his apartment in the 12000 block of West Avenue on the North Side. Villarreal, who left the scene, was arrested days later in Austin, police have said.
The Bexar County medical examiner’s office said Estrada died from a sharp-force injury and ruled the death a homicide.
In her opening statement, prosecutor Kimberly Gonzalez told the jury that Estrada lived with his boyfriend and was a kind and peaceful person, but he didn’t always make the best choices.
She told the panel that after the stabbing Villarreal went to see a friend, was covered in blood and had a gash on his hand.
“He’s saying, ‘I did it, I did it,’ and he’s freaking out,” Gonzalez said.
She told the panel the friend Villarreal went to see called another friend to go check on Estrada. When that friend arrived, they found Estrada in a fetal position on the floor, his two white dogs by his side, and all three were covered in blood.
Gonzalez said Estrada had deep puncture wounds from being stabbed seven times — on the right side of his throat, the left and back side of his head, and suffered defense wounds on his hands.
Investigators found a bloody pair of scissors at the scene, as well as a broken knife.
Gonzalez warned the jury it would be hard to hear testimony and see the crime scene photos, but she asked them to find Villarreal guilty of murder.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Alex Scharff told the jury that the incident was “extremely tragic,” but that the killing was done in self-defense.
“They were close friends. The complainant (Estrada) was David’s drug supplier. They got closer, there was sexual activity, but my client also had a girlfriend, as well,” he said.
Schraff told the jury as the men grew closer in their relationship, they would do drugs with friends. Estrada put hidden cameras all over the apartment, and Villarreal did not like that, Schraff said.
He said Villarreal overheard a conversation between Estrada and a visitor in which he believed the videotaping came up. Afterward, Villarreal confronted Estrada about the recordings, Schraff said.
Villarreal “interprets it to be about recording people without their knowledge” while using drugs, Schraff told the jury, referring to the conversation. Villarreal then told Estrada to “turn off everything.”
Schraff said Estrada went through the motions, but didn’t turn anything off, so Villarreal went to the breaker box to cut the power. He said Villarreal heard Estrada in the bedroom and beeping sounds from a gun safe, so Villarreal grabbed “a cheap steak knife,” and they began wrestling in what Schraff described as “a drugfueled battle.”
“To protect himself, he had to stop the complainant (Estrada),” Schraff said, asking the jury to find Villarreal not guilty.
The case is being heard in the 186th state District Court, with Judge Jefferson Moore presiding. If convicted, Villarreal, now 32, faces up to life in prison.