Palm Springs quadruple murder re-trial: man defense says is guilty testifies
In the Palm Springs quadruple murder re-trial, Monday the man the defense says is guilty testified.
Jose Larin Garcia is accused of murdering four people in Palm Springs in 2019. His first trial ended earlier this year with a deadlocked jury.
The trial centered around John Olvera Monday - the man the defense argues is responsible for the killings.
Trinity DeWitt took the stand, a friend of some of the victims. She showed police Instagram messages sent from Olvera's account that appeared to show him taking credit for the murders.
One message read: "I never meant that girl to die." Another said: "Jacob...shouldn't have had a kid female in the car cuz he knew I was gonna get him."
DeWitt said she took this to mean Olvera didn't mean to kill Yuliana Garcia, though he did mean to kill Jacob Montgomery.
On the stand, John Olvera himself spoke heavily in slang. He said he idolizes the rapper NBA Youngboy, whose music focuses on drugs, violence and murders.
He recalled a prior incident with Jose Larin Garcia in which he saw Larin Garcia with a gun.
At the time of the murders, Olvera was 15 years old and in 7th grade. He said he posted online taking credit for the murders to boost his "gangster status," and "street image."
Olvera told the jury unequivocally he did not kill the four victims in this case.
News Channel 3's Jake Ingrassia is in the courtroom tracking the latest: follow along here.
Good morning - testimony is resuming today in the Larin Garcia quadruple murder re-trial. The jury is expected to hear from John Olvera, the man the defense says is guilty. Follow my live updates from the courtroom in the thread below.https://t.co/6sW8ClMh9g
— Jake Ingrassia (@JakeKESQ) October 17, 2022
BACKGROUND:
Jose Larin Garcia, a Cathedral City man, is accused of killing four people (ages 17-25): Carlos Campos, Jacob Montgomery, Yuliana Garcia and Juan Duarte Raya nearly four years ago.
The four victims were all found shot and killed on the night of February 3rd, 2019.
Three of the victims were found inside a car that crashed at Sunny Dunes and El Placer roads. The fourth victim was discovered in the street on Canon Dr. few blocks away.
When police arrived on scene, they found Larin Garcia hiding under a truck. They say he appeared intoxicated and covered in blood.
Larin Garcia was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment. Security footage shows him running from the hospital later that night.
Detectives have testified he then went to a friend’s house who he had buy him a one-way bus ticket to Florida using a fake name. Prosecutors say he was preparing to flee – shaving his head and beard to change his appearance. He was arrested waiting at the bus stop.
Larin Garcia is charged with four counts of murder. He also faces a special-circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, opening him to the death penalty if convicted.
WEEK 3 IN COURT:
Last week, a family friend who harbored Larin Garcia after he fled the from the hospital testified. The jury also heard from the investigator who arrested him later that night at an Indio bus stop.
Larin Garcia's mother took the stand, revealing he called her the night of the murders and she brought him clothes and a cell phone after he ran from the hospital.
Medical examiners testified the victims were all killed instantly by gunshot wounds to the head.
A friend of the defendant spoke about a key phone call she got from the defendant just after the murders happened.
WEEK 2 IN COURT:
The jury heard from a police investigator and a friend of some of the victims.
A hospital nurse who treated Larin Garcia as a trauma patient the night of the murders testified he ran from the emergency department.
A Palm Springs police officer gave testimony key to the defense argument that another man carried out the shootings.
The jury was brought on-location to the scene of the crimes.
WEEK 1 IN COURT:
During opening statements, prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao asked the jury to hold Larin Garcia responsible for the four lives she said he stole.https://youtube.com/embed/qTPiv4vZAoc
Defense attorney John Patrick Dolan argued that another man, John Olvera, was responsible for the murders.
The jury heard from some of the first people on scene after the murders, including neighbors who saw the dead bodies and the police officer who first made contact with the suspect.
