MoVal Man Describes Fatal Confrontation With Girlfriend

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A man accused of strangling his 25-year-old girlfriend during an argument in her Moreno Valley apartment as their young daughter slept in an adjacent room told detectives immediately afterward that she was "hitting on me" and wouldn't stop, so he "grabbed her" to push her away, according to testimony Monday in his murder trial.

The prosecution replayed for jurors the interview conducted by Riverside County sheriff's detectives with 35-year-old Latravius Brian Gobert of Moreno Valley hours after the death of Mariah Malveaux on March 17, 2018.

"I grabbed her and pushed her off," Gobert said during the interrogation at the sheriff's Moreno Valley station. "I ain't choke her. I grabbed her for five, 10, 15 seconds. I don't know. She was still struggling and hitting on me. She was yelling (expletive). She said she loved me and hated me. She said I need to kill myself, or she need to kill herself."

Gobert, who is charged with murder and child endangerment, broke down in tears multiple times during questioning, and when presented with photographs from the crime scene, he insisted, "I didn't do that to her."

The defendant painted himself as a victim of Malveaux's fury, telling the law enforcement officers in the interview that he tried to disengage during the argument, even leaving her apartment that morning. But when he returned, he said she was still angry.

"She just wouldn't stop hitting me," he said in the interview.

A jury was seated Thursday, and Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Jackson ordered jurors to return Monday morning for the prosecution to present its case-in-chief. Proceedings are expected to last about two weeks.

Prosecutors allege that Gobert, a convicted felon, and Malveaux had a stormy relationship, mostly because of his extreme jealousy and short temper. The two were together for more than six years, and during that time, Gobert repeatedly abused her, the prosecution alleges.

The victim worked as an exotic dancer and was the only breadwinner in the relationship, which included several break-ups and make-ups.

Witnesses told investigators that Gobert initially did not mind Malveaux's line of work, but over time, became obsessive and controlling, verbally lambasting her for her occupation, culminating in multiple episodes in which he allegedly struck and choked her, according to a trial brief filed by the DA's office.

"Sometime between February 2018 and March 2018, the defendant and the victim got into an argument, and during the argument, the defendant smothered her with a pillow until she lost consciousness," the prosecution alleges. "The victim woke up being slapped in the face by Gobert."

The gravity of the episode was not lost on Malveaux, who obtained a life insurance policy, fearing that if anything happened to her, the couple's 6- year-old daughter would face an uncertain future, according to the prosecution.

Prosecutors allege that on the morning of March 17, 2018, Malveaux returned home after working a double shift and was scolded by Gobert, leading to a volatile exchange during which she directed him to "pack up" and leave her apartment. Instead, the defendant attacked the victim as she prepared to step into the shower, choking her until she passed out, prosecutors allege.

Gobert took their daughter — who had been sleeping in the adjacent room — and drove to his mother's house nearby, telling her what had transpired, at which point she went back to the apartment with him and found Malveaux unconscious, the trial brief alleges.

Both the defendant and his mother initiated CPR, calling 911 in the process. According to investigators, sheriff's deputies arrived within a couple of minutes and took over resuscitation efforts until paramedics reached the location and tried life-saving measures.

Malveaux was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where she died less than a half-hour later, and Gobert was arrested without incident.

According to court records, he has prior convictions for threatening a peace officer with a deadly weapon, child endangerment, making terrorist threats, possession of cocaine for sale and criminal street gang activity.

He's being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

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--City News Service