Testimony began on Monday in case against Enrique Hernandez Soto
Defendant pleads self defense in murder trial
By LAURA THORNBURG
Staff
Clark Fischer, the lawyer for the defense of Enrique Hernandez, also known as Enrique Hernandez Soto, will try to prove self-defense in in a murder trial dating back to 2006. Hernandez was charged with the stabbing death of then-18-year-old Amy Reese, who was found dead in her mother's Sparta home on July 15, 2006.
It was not clear on Monday whether or not Hernandez planned to testify during the trial.
The trial is being presided over by Judge Richard Doughton. J. Clark Fischer of Winston-Salem is representing the defendant, while Assistant District Attorney John Sherrill is prosecuting.
A nine-man, three-woman jury was seated late Monday afternoon and opening statements were heard.
The state opened first, recounting that Reese had been raised by her maternal grandfather and came to this area in July 2006. She and Hernandez, who was referred to as "Rick Soto" by Reese and her family, were picked up by Ms. Norma Musick (Reese's mother) at a bus station in Wytheville, Va.
Sherrill stated that shortly after their arrival, Ms. Reese "tried to stay away from the defendant and gave him a letter saying she didn't want to be with him anymore."
Making reference to the morning of July 15, 2006, Sherrill said Hernandez descended the stairs to the lower level of the home, where Ms. Reese was sleeping and that he left the home about nine that morning. He went on to say that Ms. Reese's body was discovered by her mother under a pile of clothes and was surrounded by a pool of blood, noting she had been stabbed six times.
During the course of the statement, as well as during her testimony Monday, Ms. Musick appeared upset and could be heard sobbing.
Meanwhile, during the defense's opening statement, Fischer said that Ms. Reese and Mr. Hernandez had a relationship in Cleveland, Ohio and both, who were working at a thrift store, lost their jobs, subsequently leading to Ms. Reese's request to her mother to come visit.
Fischer stated evidence would show there to be a "considerable amount of tension," commenting that Ms. Reese "threatened to do harm to her family…" and that Hernandez wanted to leave and that he had contacted his brother for finances to do so.
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