A 32-year-old man was convicted Friday of killing his mother and dumping her body in La Habra.
Gabriel Antonio Espinoza was convicted of first-degree murder, but jurors rejected a special circumstances allegation of killing for financial gain.
Espinoza, scheduled to be sentenced June 2, faces 25 years to life in prison.
Espinoza killed 58-year-old Emma Posadas Espinoza in mid-July 2014, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Troy Pino.
She lived in Santa Maria on California’s Central Coast.
The victim was last seen alive on July 16, 2014, Pino said.
The body was discovered July 21 behind a carport in the 900 block of South Idaho Street, Pino said.
Investigators suspect the time of death was about July 17 of that year, Pino said. The defendant at the time was living with his father and stepmother in Santa Maria.
Espinoza was the victim’s only child, Pino said. She was a clinical social worker.
The defendant and his mother had an “on-again, off-again relationship” Pino said.
The defendant at the time of his mother’s death faced default on student loans from UC Irvine for $43,000, a lawsuit judgment against him for $5,000 and debts from a failure to pay traffic tickets, Pino said.
The mother’s Acura was found about a mile and half from where the body was dumped, Pino said. DNA evidence shows the defendant had been using the car and a witness reported seeing someone matching his description with the car with his dog inside, Pino said.
The dog’s hair was found in the abandoned car, Pino said.
An autopsy showed the victim died during a “violent struggle,” Pino said. She suffered multiple bruises on her back, wrists, arms, legs and stomach and had broken ribs, Pino said.
The body’s neck was broken, likely after she died, when she was stuffed in the trunk, Pino alleged.
During questioning the defendant gave investigators “false alibis,” Pino said. Investigators also suspect the defendant was using his mother’s cell phone to send text messages to friends inquiring about her whereabouts, Pino said.
The defendant collected $146,000 from his mother’s 401-K retirement, but failed to collect on her life insurance policy, Pino said.
Espinoza was arrested in his residence on Dec. 23, 2014, Pino said.
Defense attorney Fred Fascenelli argued that his client was innocent and he pointed a finger at two friends of the victim, John and Diana Gellentien.
Fascenelli argued that Diana Gellentien was angered by an affair her husband had with the victim and that “she contracted with someone to kill her.”
Fascenelli said the two had alibis that were so detailed that it was “creepy.” He also argued that it appeared Diana Gellentien had mentioned a cause of death for the victim before any of those details were even known to law enforcement.
Pino said that Fascenelli’s argument was “all speculation without any evidence,” and that the direct evidence pointed to the defendant.
Fascenelli said he would file a motion for a new trial based on allegations the La Habra Police Department failed to turn over some evidence about the Gellentiens until he subpoeaned the records during trial.
Pino declined to comment specifically about the so-called Brady violations, saying only that Fascenelli “has legal remedies in court and that’s where it should be litigated, not in the press.”
— City News Service