By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
SANTA ANA, Calif. ― On the opening day of the trial for two women accused of murdering a young Vietnamese American woman, jurors repeatedly saw cell phone video footage that the prosecutor said is convincing enough to convict the accused.
A look inside the Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom where the Kim Pham murder is taking place. (Photo by Kalynh/Nguoi Viet)
“Let the criminal system do its job and find justice for the victim,” said Troy Pino, the Orange County deputy district attorney prosecuting the case against Candice Brito, 27, and Vanesa Zavala, 25, who stand charged with assaulting and murdering Annie “Kim” Pham outside of the former Crosby nightclub last January.
Pino and the attorneys representing the two women laid out their opening statements on Wednesday in the Superior Court courtroom of Judge Thomas M. Goethals. They agree that Pham was the victim of a beating in front of the nightclub, but they disagree on who is responsible.
Pham, 23, was pronounced dead after being taken off life support a few days after the altercation. The cause of Pham’s death was blunt-force trauma to the head, according to the Orange County Coroner’s office.
During his opening statement, Pino told the jurors that the women took part in the fight that led to Pham’s death. He said that at one point, Zavala was pushed away from the skirmish but later returned to rejoin the altercation. He said that eventually, she kicked Pham, resulting in her death.
During his statement, Kenneth Reed, who represents Zavala, showed the jury some photos that showed bruises on Zavala’s arms and wrists after she was allegedly involved in the incident.
Involved, however, does not make her guilty of the charges she faces, Reed said. Like Brito, Zavala is charged with one count of murder and one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. Reed said Zavala had the right to defend herself and should not be charged with murder.
Reed said that he expects the medical examiner to take the stand during the trial. But based on her reports, Reed said no one knows exactly which was the blow that killed Pham or who delivered it.
Brto’s attorney, Michael Molfetta, said in his opening statement that it was Pham’s own poor decisions that lead to the tragedy of her death, including taking offense to being bumped
“She didn’t deserve to die,” Molfetta said. “The fact is she died because she took umbrage over a bump.”
The cell phone videos showed Pham having an altercation with a Hispanic female identified as “Emilia.” Eventually, both women fell to the sidewalk. The videos show multiple people trying to stop the fight and others recording it via cell phone. The video also showed a woman making a kicking motion toward two women on the ground, but it is hard to see if it connected.
Following the opening statements, witnesses who were at the nightclub that night took the stand.
Dolton Taylor, then employed as a security guard at the club, said he was in the back of the club when he heard a loud commotion. When he reached the front, he saw Pham and a Hispanic woman on the sidewalk. He said due to his military training, he could see that Pham was in bad shape, but he didn’t know what led her to lose consciousness.
Another security guard, Arturo Martinez, also took the witness stand and described that he saw two females pulling hair. As he tried to separate the females, one reached over and threw a punch. He said the women then fell to the ground and he saw a woman kick Pham. He said Brito was that woman.
Witness Darwin Arayata testified that he was in line in front of Pham’s party when he heard an argument between two women who began pulling hair and slapping each other, then falling to the ground.
Arayata said he then saw two other Hispanic females join in and kick Pham but didn’t recall which woman kicked first. Arayata then pointed out Brito and Zavala in the courtroom as the women whom he saw near Pham.
Arayata will be back on the witness stand again when the trial resumes Thursday at 9 a.m.
