Beach Park double murder trial delayed until October
The trial for a Beach Park man accused of killing his wife and stepson with an aluminum baseball bat was postponed Wednesday after prosecutors said they received new information from a cellphone pertinent to the case.
Prosecutor Eric Kalata said in court a new computer program uncovered new information during a search of a cellphone obtained in the murder case of Armando Trejo Jr., 50.
Kalata did not specify what the new information is, saying it would need to be researched before a trial started. Defense attorneys Michael Ettinger and Stephen Simonian did not object to the delay.
Judge James Booras set an Oct. 1 trial date.
Trejo is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery in the murders of Lailani Uy Trejo, 43, and her son, Patrick K. Cruz Uy, 14, in their home Nov. 29, 2015.
Trejo remains held in Lake County jail on $5 million bail.
Authorities said emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from Uy Trejo saying she needed medical assistance and was bleeding. Seconds later, dispatchers heard several sounds over the telephone, which officials later determined was the bat striking the victim.
The line was disconnected soon after dispatchers heard the sounds. When dispatchers called back, a man answered and claimed his younger son had dialed the number accidentally.
Sheriff's deputies went to the home on West Bairstow Avenue and spotted Trejo outside, authorities said. As detectives spoke with him, an injured elderly woman later identified as Trejo's mother came outside and allowed officers into the house.
Officers saw Uy Trejo and Cruz Uy dead upon entering the home. There was also an extensive amount of blood on the floor and walls.
Polie said Trejo admitted to police to bludgeoning his wife multiple times with the bat during an argument. The boy was attacked when he tried to intervene.
The mother was also struck by Trejo when she tried to get involved, authorities said. A fourth person in the home was not attacked or injured.
Ettinger and Simonian said they intend to argue at trial Trejo should be charged with second-degree murder because the killings were not premeditated.
Trejo faces a life sentence if found guilty.