Vasquez back in court in wheelchair; family testifies
NEW ULM — Miguel A. Vasquez returned to court Tuesday, on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Amber Lechuga.
Vasquez was brought into court in a wheelchair. His attorney said Vasquez was not injured, but was physically incapable of moving on his own.
Vasquez is accused of the first-degree murder and dismemberment of Lechuga, and burning her remains in a vehicle fire 3 miles south of Sleepy Eye on Sept. 25, 2014.
This is Vasquez’s first appearance in court since his suicide attempt on Nov. 7, 2016. The trial was postponed until a mental health assessment could be conducted on Vasquez. After the examination, Judge Robert Docherty declared Vasquez competent to stand trial.
The defense made no further motion to declare Vasquez incompetent. Instead, the trial resumed where it left off, with testimony from family and friends of Vasquez and Lechuga.
The court heard multiple accounts of Vasquez’ actions and whereabouts in the lead-up to his admittance into Sleepy Eye hospital for burns and the discovery of Lechuga’s remains in a burned-out van.
Sharon Theis, the fiancee of Lechuga’s father, testified to seeing Vasquez early in the morning on Sept. 25. Theis saw Vasquez outside his apartment, with his son.
Vasquez told Theis he could not go to work because Amber was not home to watch the children; she had left in the night and was now in St. James. Theis described his behavior as odd, but said she was not worried, other than that Amber had left in the night.
Theis later tried to call Amber, but got a disconnect signal. She later called Vasquez to tell him she had been unable to contact Amber.
Theis testified on the status of Lechuga and Vasquez’ relationship. Theis said Amber was looking for a new place to live. Theis said in her conversation with Vasquez the morning of the incident, she said, “Amber was not his and was not for some time.”
Theis testified to finding a bloody shirt while collecting clothes from Amber and Vasquez’ apartment. The shirt was turned over to authorities. Theis later found a tablet in the apartment.
The tablet was initially taken for the grandchildren to use, but was turned over to law enforcement after the Lechuga family found suspicious searches on it. The searches included “how hard is a human head?” and “how to sharpen a machete?”
The defense argued earlier in the trial that the tablet was not found by law enforcement on earlier searches, and could have been planted by the Lechuga family.
Amber’s father Adolfo Lechuga testified that the last time he saw his daughter was Sept. 24. On Sept. 25, he received a text from her, saying she was fine and was going away to clear her head. He said the text did not seem strange at the time, but after the fact seemed not something his daughter would text. He had no voice conversation with his daughter on Sept. 25.
Adolfo talked with Vasquez on Sept. 25 about Amber leaving. Vasquez mentioned a plan to move to Texas with his children. Adolpho said his daughter would have wanted to maintain contact with her children. Later in the day, Vasquez told Adolfo that Amber was in St. James and she needed to be picked up.
Adolfo got another call from Vasquez in the evening, requesting help. Vasquez said someone ran him off the road and knocked him out. Adolpho and a friend then attempted to locate Vasquez and called 911. The police found Vasquez and took him to Sleepy Eye Medical Center
At the hospital Adolfo asked Vasquez who had done it. Vasquez told him a maroon car ran him off the road, then said later it was a truck.
Adolfo said he knew of no one who would want to hurt Vasquez or Amber.
Vasquez’ sister Janet Vasquez testified to speaking with her brother at their grandparents’ apartment in the afternoon of Sept. 25. Her brother told her he missed work because Amber was gone. He said he received a text from Amber saying she was in St. James. Janet said her brother was worried about Amber because she was hanging around with “bad dudes involved with drugs.”
Rina Cruz, a friend of Amber’s and occasional babysitter for the children, testified that on Sept. 25, Vasquez visited her home trying to find Amber. Cruz said it surprised her Amber would leave without making arrangements for the boys.
Cruz said Vasquez was acting nervous. He came into her home, which she said he had never done before, and he was fidgeting, moving his hands and looking out at his van.
Vasquez reportedly left the children in the van, but kept the windows up despite the warm weather. Cruz could not confirm if the children were in the van because of the window tint. She did see a pile of clothes in the passenger seat.
Cruz asked to see the boys, but Vasquez did not let her, saying he had to leave.
Cruz’ testimony mentioned an earlier incident in which Amber came to her home upset about a fight with Vasquez. Amber had a red mark on her face. She said Vasquez had struck her during a fight. On cross examination, Cruz admitted Amber hit Vasquez back. According to Cruz’ testimony, during the physical altercation, Vasquez had knocked Amber’s cell phone into their apartment wall. Amber was forced to make a hole in the wall to recover the phone.
Cruz did not witness the altercation, but the prosecution presented photographs of the victim and defendant’s apartment, showing a cellphone sized dent in the wall.
Steven Kellen with the State Fire Marshalls testified on the origins of the van fire. Kellen testified the fire started on the floor of the van, between the front and right seat. Chemical tests on vehicle debris and on human remains found in the van suggested gasoline was used.
A cell phone used by Vasquez to call police was introduced into evidence. Vasquez claimed the phone was in the center console of the van after waking up in the burning van. Kellen said based on the origin of the fire, the plastic cell phone should have sustained smoke damage or melted.
Kellen testified as an expert in auto collision. In his examination of the van, Kellen found no evidence of a rear-end collision.
The trial will continue Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. with testimony from the victim’s sister Alyssa Lechuga.
Vasquez waived his right to trial by jury in favor of a bench trial. Docherty will make the final decision at the conclusion of the trial.
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