Edward James Munoz”s murder trial, postponed on 12 previous occasions, officially started for the 13th time in Lake County Superior Court on Wednesday, Aug. 2, with jury selection and pretrial motion hearings.
The preliminary hearing was originally performed back in 2002.
Munoz, 25, is accused in the savage death of Leah Leister, a 26-year-old single mother, in her Clearlake apartment. Initially, Munoz could have faced the death penalty, if it were not for the choice the District Attorney made to pursue life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Munoz has pleaded not guilty.
Recently, Lake County Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who has been the prosecutor in the case since charges were first filed against Munoz, gave opening statements and started the process of calling witnesses on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Munoz” date with justice has proved to be elusive as a parade of lawyers did not remain on the case after assuming the role of counsel. The attorneys were granted delays because they were involved in other cases or weren”t ready. Those lawyers resigned or, as in one case, were dismissed by Munoz.
Hinchcliff expects to be calling 26 witnesses total.
Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.
