Memory expert in Palatine murder trial calls testimony unreliable
Attorneys for Marco Lopez - charged with the 2014 murders of a Palatine father and son - attempted to discredit the state's eyewitness with an expert in sensory perception and memory who testified Tuesday that identifications can be unreliable.
As Lopez's trial entered its second week, Dr. Geoffrey Loftus, of the University of Washington in Seattle, testified that circumstances such as time of day and lighting as well as pre- and post-event information can affect a person's memory of what happened. Loftus also testified that confidence in a memory doesn't ensure the accuracy.
Loftus' statements called into question last week's testimony by Jose Herrera, who lived on the first floor of the apartment building where Segundo Reynoso, 36, and his 15-year-old son Luis were gunned down about 12:20 a.m. on March 19, 2014. Herrera testified he heard gunshots, followed by footsteps descending a staircase. Moments later, he said, he observed Lopez outside his sliding glass door, walking away from the building.
Lopez, 19, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the Reynosos, who authorities say had taken the teen in after his parents had kicked him out for gang activity. Prosecutors say Lopez, a member of a Chicago street gang, murdered the father and son because he believed Luis, a fellow gang member, had snitched to police about a series of burglaries the two teens committed.
Loftus agreed with Cook County assistant public defender Caroline Glennon that Herrera might have misidentified Lopez as the person he saw outside his apartment that night.
"It's possible Marco Lopez didn't shoot these people," Glennon said to Loftus.
"Yes," replied Loftus.
On cross examination, Cook County assistant state's attorney Mike Crowe pointed out that Herrera spoke with police within minutes of their arrival and identified Lopez - someone he knew from the building - as the person he saw leaving that night.
Lopez's attorneys are arguing their client is innocent and have offered up an alternative theory of the crime involving a rival gang member. Vanessa Betancourt, a friend of both Lopez and Luis Reynoso, testified Tuesday that Luis had been beaten up by another gang member earlier on the day he was killed.
Testimony continues Wednesday in Rolling Meadows.