SAN ANTONIO – Although they were warned by prosecutors at the outset of David Villarreal's murder trial that some of the evidence they would see would be graphic, crime scene video played in court Wednesday was apparently too much for several jurors.
Villarreal, 31, is accused of stabbing his roommate, Aaron Estrada (pictured, below), 29, seven times on Oct. 16, 2015, inside an apartment the two shared, prosecutors said.
Estrada's bloody body was left sprawled on the floor, which is part of what jurors saw in video of the crime scene.
Several jurors turned their heads away, including one man who covered his eyes.
Villarreal wept openly.
Estrada's godmother, Nancy Botello, also viewed the video.
"Hurtful. Hurtful and painful," she said. "To see someone's loved one on the floor, bloody. After three years, we're living this nightmare again."
Botello said the slaying has torn the family apart.
"We were devastated. His uncle and I and his family were devastated, because Aaron never had an enemy," she said. "He was a kind, loving young man."
Estrada was stabbed to death in what Villarreal's lawyer, Alex Scharff, said was self-defense during what he said was "a drug-fueled battle for his life."
Testimony will continue Thursday in Judge Jefferson Moore's 186th District Court.
A conviction on the murder charge could mean a life sentence for Villarreal.