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Gruesome Details Revealed In Triple Slaying Case
Glasgow, KY -- One of three men whose decomposed bodies were found by hunters was strangled by a dog collar and the others shot, a detective testified Monday at a hearing for two men charged in the slayings.Miguel A. Velazquez is charged with three counts of murder and tampering with physical evidence and Marcos Bautista is charged with complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence in the case.Kentucky State Police Detective Michael May testified that the victim who was strangled was also beaten. One victim was shot twice in the head and a third was shot and beaten.A Barren County District Court judge sent the cases for both defendants to the local grand jury after a nearly 1½-hour hearing. The defendants - dressed in orange jail jumpsuits and bound at their hands and feet - showed little or no emotion during the hearing.Defense lawyers argued that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to justify sending the cases to the grand jury. Specifically, they said the state had not established intent against the defendants, who are both from Cave City."The commonwealth's case essentially boils down to Mr. Velazquez either shot or struck or choked individuals, and those individuals died," said Joanne Lynch, a public defender representing Velazquez."The commonwealth gave no evidence of a statement of the defendant's state of mind, whether it was intentional, whether it was wanton, whether it was reckless."Lynch declined to go into more details after the hearing."They call them preliminary hearings for a reason," she said. "They are preliminary, and we'll get more information as the case unfolds."May, the only witness to testify, presented details partially based on police interviews with the defendants. The bodies were dragged into a thicket to try to conceal them in a field near Cave City in rural south-central Kentucky, he said. He said the victims were not killed at the same time, and listed Oct. 22 as the earliest estimated date for any of the slayings.May, the lead detective in the case, said $20 to $30 was taken from one victim, along with a cell phone.Commonwealth's Attorney Karen Davis has said she is considering seeking the death penalty in the case.May testified that Velazquez was "very forthright" in recounting details while speaking with police. He said Velazquez seemed indifferent about what had happened to the victims."At the end of the interview, he was asked how he felt about things and how they came out," May said. "He said he didn't feel good, bad."He testified that one victim was shot in the back of the head and a second time in the side of the face.Another was being enticed downstairs when he was shot in the stairwell of a farmhouse near where the bodies were eventually found, May said. The victim was also beaten with a bat and kicked, he said.Bautista told investigators that he was there when that victim was killed, helped dispose of the body and helped clean the crime scene, May said. He said Bautista kicked that victim.The third victim was strangled while in bed and beaten with a bat, May said.Velazquez told police that he tried to strangle the victim with a dog collar, but when the man started making a lot of noise, he beat the man with a bat, May testified.May testified that Velazquez later told police investigators where the gun could be found."It was where he told them it would be," May said.Police have not identified the victims.(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Full story
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