Testimony ends in trial for Chino Hills man accused of trying to strange his wife
Closing arguments are expected to be heard Tuesday in the trial of a Chino Hills man accused of trying to strangle his estranged wife to death in 2006.
Prosecutors say Oscar Gonzalez, 46, hid in his wife's car while the woman was at work, then emerged after she began driving home and tried to strangle her to death with a rope.
Maria del Rosario Gonzalez survived the attack after a Chino police officer saw the woman's car run a stop sign. Paramedics cut the woman free from the rope around her neck and revived her.
Today at West Valley Superior Court, a psychologist who examined Gonzalez last year testified briefly, as did Gonzalez's youngest daughter, Anabel Gonzalez.
On Thursday, the psychologist, Annette Ermshar, said she believes Oscar Gonzalez was clinically depressed over the separation with his wife.
After the two witnesses finished testifying today -- the seventh day of testimony in Gonzalez's trial -- testimony in the trial concluded.
Judge Michael Libutti told the jury to return to West Valley Superior Court Tuesday morning to hear jury instructions and closing arguments from attorneys in the case.
In two days on the witness stand last week, Maria del Rosario Gonzalez fought back tears as she recounted the details of her husband's alleged late-night attack against her.
She said her shift ended at a Chino Jacuzzi factory at about 2 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2006.
She got into her car and began driving to her brother's Chino home, where she was living. Not long after she started driving, she said she saw her husband in the rear-view mirror.
He pleaded with her to talk to him, she said, but she refused and told him to leave the car. He refused to leave the car, then took out a rope and put it around her neck, she said.
She passed out during the strangulation, and was revived later by paramedics.
Maria del Rosario Gonzalez and both the couple's adult daughters testified that after Maria del Rosario Gonzalez told the family she wanted to divorce her husband in December 2004, Oscar Gonzalez became deeply depressed.
His daughters said he lost weight and and became less social. Maria del Rosario Gonzalez said her husband frequently threatened to kill her, and once suggested the couple kill themselves.
Oscar Gonzalez's defense attorney, Robert Von Schlichting, said his client did not intend to kill his wife the night of the attack, only to scare her in order to force her to speak to him.
Today, Von Schlichting made a motion before the court to dismiss allegations that the attack was premedidated and deliberate.
The allegation could lead to a sentence of life in prison for Oscar Gonzalez.
The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Michele Daly, said the attack was clearly premeditated and deliberate.
She said Oscar Gonzalez woke up several hours earlier than usual to hide in his wife's car. He also brought a rope the morning of the attack, and he wore gloves in order to not leave fingerprints, Daly said.
Libutti denied Von Schlichting's motion to dismiss the allegations.
Leave a comment