Greeley, Colo. -- Reporter Lance Hernandez is blogging from the Allen Andrade trial in Greeley. He's accused of first-degree murder in the slaying of Angie Zapata, a transgender woman.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

10:15 a.m. Judge Marcelo Kopcow gives instructions to the jury.

32-year old Allen Andrade is accused of first degree murder, bias motivated hate crime, aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft.

Judge told jurors that the burden of proof is on the prosecution. He said if they have failed to prove all the elements of premeditated murder, jurors could find the defendeant guilty of a lesser crime like murder in the second degree, manslaughter or negligent homicide.

Jurors can decide that the defendant was acting in a sudden heat of passion.

10:36 a.m. Closing Arguments Begin

Prosecutor Robb Miller said the victim, Angie Zapata, died because of who she was. He said Allen Andrade decided that Angie would die.

This is not a who done it, Miller said. Allen Andrade used a fire extinguisher to kill Angie Zapata.

He said this is not a lesser offense.

This is much more than reckless. His intent is seen at the crime scene, his intent is heard in the jail call. Hitting someone time and time again in the forehead shows exactly what the intent was.

The defendant was in Greeley for 12 hours where he knew no one and texted the victim 22 times. That shows what was on his mind, according to Miller.

Miller talks about the timeline.

He said on July 12, 2008 there were 272 texts between the victim and defendant.

On July 13, 59 texts and 4 calls … and on and on.

Miller said this was not "heat of passion" this was first-degree murder. This was not heat of passion because a reasonable person would have left.

He said if Andrade was so repulsed by Angie why would he stay at her house for 12 hours. Why would he take her car, it would have been a constant reminder.

What is clear, Miller said, is that the defendant had more than enough time to do what a reasonable person would have done... walk away.

The evidence is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder, not a lesser offense.

This man, Miller said, thought of Angie as less than any of us.

Everyone deserves equal protection under the law and no one deserves to die like this. Find him guilty of all the counts.

11:27 a.m. Defense Attorney Annette Kundelius begins her closing arguments.

Kundelius tells jurors that this case is about deception. She repeated his remarks from a phone conversation after he was arrested. He said, "I don't know, I don't know, f***, f***, f***, I knew it was over."

The attorney said Justin Zapata deceived Andrade. She said, he was not a girl, he was not a boy, he was a man.

She said the circumstantial evidence here shows that there was some sexual contact.

She said the fact that there were two beds in the apartment and that the victim slept in one and the defendant in the other is proof that Zapata wanted to keep his true identity from the defendant.

Kundelius said prosecutors talked about the multiple blows being evidence that the crime was planned. I'm arguing the opposite. The injuries were only to one part of the face. There were no other injuries.

She said prosecutors talked about all the text messages between the victim and defendant. But she said records show that there were 14 text messages between the two while they were allegedly on their way to the courthouse together. That doesn't make sense. The reason they were texting, she said, is because they weren't together.

Kundelius said first-degree murder hasn't been proven in this case, there is no evidence of it. He didn't have time to think about this, he just reacted. She reads a transcript of a phone conversation with his girlfriend. "I knew I was a mad person, but I never knew I could react like that." He didn't plan it.

She talked about the heat of passion instruction. Says Mr. Andrade reacted to the situation he was in. He said prosecutors would have you believe that a reasonable person would have left.

That's what you have to decide.

You've never heard us say he didn't do something wrong. It's your job to determine what he did.

He failed to perceive the danger or risk of a situation that he was placed in. He did not commit first degree murder. He did not commit a bias motivated crime.

12:18 p.m. Robb Miller wraps up closing.

He told jurors there is no confusion about who killed Angie Zapata. He said there was intent.

The evidence is clear that this man committed first degree murder.

He said the defense took great steps to call Angie, Justin through the entire trial.

2:30 p.m. Jurors tell judge verdict has been reached.

At 2:55 p.m. Judge admonishes crowd to keep emotions in check.

Guilty of first degree murder, guilty of bias motivated crime, guilty of aggravated motor vehicle theft in the first degree... and guilty of identity theft.

=4:02 p.m. Sentencing phase begins on count one - First Degree Murder

Angie's mom, Maria Zapata takes the stand, and tells jurors it hurts badly to lose a child... one that you love very much.

She says the one thing that Andrade can't take from her is the memories of her loved one.

The defendant's sister then took the stand. Christina Cruz told the court that her family didn't sign up for this. The also told the court that she loved her brother and that she didn't agree with the outcome of the trial.

Defense attorney Annette Kundelius said Allen Andrade isn't the monster he was portrayed to be. She said he was a caring individual.

Judge Marcelo Kopcow told Andrade that as he is spending the rest of his life in the Department of Corrections he hopes he thinks about the victim and the brutality that he inflicted on that human being. He also told Andrade that he hopes he thinks about the harm he caused his family and the family of Angie Zapata.