By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
SANTA ANA, Calif. ― The trial in the case of the murder of Kim Pham, scheduled to begin Monday, has been postponed for at least two weeks.
Vanesa Zavala, left, and Candace Marie Brito remain in custody, charged in the death of Kim Pham of Westminster. (File photo by Mark Boster-Pool/Getty Images)
The attorneys for the two defendants ― Candace Brito, 27, and Vanesa Zavala, 25 ― notified Judge Thomas M. Goethals that they are tied up with other cases. The two women, who remain in custody, did not attend Monday’s hearing.
Pham, 23, from Westminster, was assaulted outside of the Crosby nightclub in Santa Ana last January. Two days after the attack, she was removed from life support. She died from blunt-force trauma to the head, according to the Orange County Coroner’s office.
Attorney Michael Molfetta, who represents Brito, told Goethals in court on Monday that he expected his other case would conclude this week. Kenneth Reed, the counsel for Zavala, was not in court on Monday but sent word to the judge of his conflict.
Goethals scheduled another hearing for Friday to sort out the schedule conflicts with Molfetta and Reed.
Outside the courtroom, Molfetta said he expects that there will be a pretrial hearing on Monday May 19, with jury selection to begin a few days later.
“If it goes on as planned, jury selection will be a few days after the pretrial hearing,” Molfetta said. “We’re hoping it would be on the 22nd.”
Families of Pham and the two suspects were in court but denied to comment on the case.
