Jurors shown rope in Chino strangulation case
The rope that Oscar Gonzalez allegedly used to try to strangle his estranged wife two years ago was shown to jurors this morning in Gonzalez's attempted-murder trial in West Valley Superior Court.
The rope produced by the prosecutor was still tangled with strands of the woman's dark-colored hair, Chino police Sgt. William Covington testified.
The display of the rope was the most chilling moment in two hours of testimony Wednesday, the third day of testimony in Gonzalez's trial.
Gonzalez, 46, of Chino Hills, tried to strangle his wife to death in Chino on Feb. 17, 2006 after hiding in the woman's car, prosecutors say.
Maria del Rosario Gonzalez fell unconscious during the attack, but was cut free and revived by paramedics after a police officer saw the car run a stop sign.
In December 2003, after more than 20 years of marriage, Maria del Rosario Gonzalez told her husband she wanted a divorce. She moved out of the family's home about two months later.
Both of the couple's daughters testified Wednesday.
The couple's older daughter, Iliana Gonzalez Becerra, testified about a previous incident when Oscar Gonzalez wrapped a plasic zip tie around his wife's neck.
Becerra said her mother appeared frightened during the incident, which occurred shortly after she said she wanted a divorce. Becerra said she used scissors to cut the zip tie off her mother's neck.
Chino police officer Jonathan Monroe, who pulled the car over the night of the attack, said in testimony Wednesday that when he pulled Gonzalez over, Gonzalez was in an "excitable state" and sweating profusely.
Monroe said Gonzalez said during his arrest, "I almost killed her" and "Give her CPR. C'mon, c'mon."
Chino police Sgt. Rodney Lombard said that when he searched Gonzalez shortly after his arrest, he found a key to the wife's car in Gonzalez's sweatshirt.
Much of the Deputy District Attorney Michele Daly's questioning Wednesday appeared designed to produce evidence that Gonzalez intended to flee or evade authorities following the attack.
Covington said that when he searched Gonzalez's truck after the attack he found a passport, a driver's license, credit cards and hundreds of dollars in cash.
Iliana Gonzalez Becerra said in testimony that when she searched her father's truck after it was returned from a police impound lot, she found license plates under a rug in the bed of the truck.
Judge Michael Libutti told the jury at the start of the day's hearing that testimony and closing arguments in the trial will likely last until Oct. 22 or Oct. 23.
Oscar Gonzalez's defense attorney, Robert Von Schlichting, said he wasn't sure whether Gonzalez will be called to testify during the trial.
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