Mar. 2, 2023 12:30p
(WGTD)---The man who allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend is being described in court as a victim---victim of an alleged shoddy police investigation.
Defense Attorney Nicole Muller concluded her opening statement Thursday morning following a day-long break in the trial because of a mistrial motion. That motion by the prosecutor was eventually withdrawn, and the trial for Zachariah Anderson resumed.
Defense attorney Muller contended that investigators were so focused on fingering Anderson for the crime that they failed to look at other possible suspects. "There's no body. No human remains. No murder weapon. No witnesses that can tell you exactly what happened," said Muller. "Yet they (the police) wanted to go with the narrative that it must've been Mr. Anderson," she said.,
Muller contends that police should’ve looked at other women that Rosalio Gutierrez had purportedly been dating at the time. She also claimed that Gutierrez owed significant sums of money to friends, and was about to be evicted.
Gutierrez’ blood was found splashed over his Wood Creek apartment nearly two years ago. His body was never found.
Muller claims that the investigation was so incomplete that they missed finding Gutierrez’ phone and wallet that had been inexplicably placed in the refrigerator of the apartment. The discovery was purportedly made by Gutierrez’ mother days later.
The prosecution believes Anderson killed Gutierrez in the apartment, then used his van to transport the body to another location for disposal. Anderson’s van had been cleaned with bleach, and a section of carpet removed. Items of clothing were found in a burn pit on property that Anderson had access to.
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