A defense lawyer admitted that his client was guilty of killing the two women, but said the charge of capital murder is too strong.
Jose Alfonso Aviles, 57, was charged with murdering his daughter's lesbian lover, 24-year-old Norma Hurtado, and her 57-year-old mother, Maria Hurtado.
Attorney Bradley Urrutia said his client was willing to plead guilty to a lesser charge of murder, but not capital murder.
"He went over there and had a discussion with the young woman who was seeing his daughter and he did not plan to kill her," Urrutia said. "I tell you that he did not intend to kill the two, but maybe only intended to kill one and therefore, this is not capital murder, it's just murder. That's what our strategy is and why we are willing to to plead guilty at this time," the defense attorney said.
A guilty verdict on a capital murder charge could bring a sentence of life without parole. Conviction of a lesser charge of manslaughter would allow Aviles to be eligible for parole in 30 years, when he will be about 80-years-old.
Demonstrations were held and there were calls for action at the funerals. Community meetings were also held. The fatal confrontation occurred at the Hurtado family home, according to police reports. Urrutia said the confrontation was a result of a long battle between the two families.
Urrutia denied that Aviles killed the two only because the relationship with his 17-year-old daughter. "That is what has been reported, but that's not true at all," Urrutia said. "It was more of a struggle to get Norma to leave her daughter alone so that she could fulfill her responsibility that she had in school."
The jury did not see it his way, and they convicted Aviles for capital murder. He will serve life in prison without parole.
