LAKEPORT — The jury in the John Gray murder trial heard attorneys” closing arguments Tuesday at the Lake County Courthouse.
Judge Arthur Mann presided. Deputy district attorney Art Grothe represented the Lake County DA”s Office and attorney Kevin Ikuma represented Gray.
Gray is charged with murder and special allegations of inflicting great bodily injury and using a deadly weapon, for allegedly bludgeoning to death his then-roommate Eric Joaquin during the early morning hours of Feb. 28, 2009.
Joaquin”s body was discovered on the floor of his bedroom in Gray”s Clear Lake Riviera house around 9:30 a.m. that day.
Tuesday marked the 12th court day of the jury trial, which began with opening arguments on Oct. 13.
Grothe opened Tuesday”s proceeding with a 75-minute final argument.
Grothe summarized the testimony of most of the prosecution witnesses, asking the jury to consider all of the information and evidence those witnesses provided.
Grothe asked the jury to “look at the amount of time it took him to kill Eric Joaquin” while considering whether to convict Gray.
The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Joaquin testified on Oct. 21 that he counted “at least 44 injuries” to Joaquin”s body, including at least four significant blows to the skull.
The jury should consider the amount of time and injuries sustained during the beating while determining whether the act was premeditated, Grothe said. “The beating had to go on over a course of minutes,” he said.
Grothe said the evidence in the case showed that Gray had “temper control issues” and that “something set him off” the night Joaquin was killed.
“We ask that you find him guilty of first-degree murder,” Grothe said to conclude his argument.
Ikuma”s two-hour argument began at 10:45 a.m., bridged the lunch recess and concluded around 2:45 p.m.
The defense argument featured a PowerPoint presentation titled “John Gray is an innocent man,” which consisted of some 100 slides of questions and interpretations for the jury”s consideration.
Ikuma asked the jury to keep the reasonable doubt standard in mind when analyzing the prosecution”s case. “The government failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.
Ikuma said the jury should consider that the prosecution and investigators did not establish a motive for Gray having committed the crime.
He also argued that the prosecution”s timeline of the murder night was inconsistent and that the time of death was undefined.
Ikuma questioned the fact investigators did not find significantly bloody clothes, other than bloody socks and shoes, in Gray”s possession despite the presence of blood spatter throughout the walls in Joaquin”s bedroom.
“You are not any safer if you convict John Gray because the real killer is still out there,” Ikuma said to the jury at the end of his argument. “The government has not proven their case at all.”
Grothe followed with a 35-minute rebuttal argument.
Grothe said the defense”s two-hour presentation was designed to distract the jury from the evidence “that is actually relevant to what happened here.”
Investigators did not find bloody clothes at the murder scene because Gray is “changing clothes some point in this process and getting rid of clothes,” according to Grothe.
The trial recessed for the day at 3:40 p.m. Mann said the jury would be given instructions and begin deliberation today when the trial reconvenes at 9 a.m. in Department 2.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
