Prosecution, Defense, Lay Out Case in Murder Trial of Former L.A. Fire Captain

Opening statements began yesterday in the long-awaited trial of former LAFD Captain David Del Toro, who, according to the lead prosecutor in the case, not only murdered a 42-year-old woman but also “battered, bruised and pummeled” her—an allegation that the defense rebutted by calling it “deceptive.”

Del Toro, an Eagle Rock resident who was a fire captain in Lincoln Heights, is charged with torturing and murdering a female acquaintance, Jennifer Flores, whose nude and mangled body was found on Aug. 16, 2006, about a quarter mile from Del Toro’s house on 5127 Vincent Ave.

“Any good, dramatic story has an interesting beginning, and I’m going to tell you just enough about this story to pique your interest and prepare you for the story to be told by witnesses,” Deputy District Attorney Robert Grace told the 12-member jury of seven women and five men. The last of them—as well as four alternate jurors—were chosen Wednesday morning amid a prolonged process that was originally scheduled to end on Jan. 31.

Pointing to Del Toro—who sat in the courtroom in a dark suit, facing Judge Lance Ito—Grace emphasized the brutal nature of the case, which shocked Eagle Rock and has rallied both defenders and critics of the one-time fire captain who was born into a family of 10 siblings in South Central L.A. and grew up in neighboring Highland Park.

“Jennifer Flores’s nose was broken by this defendant, Jennifer Flores’s ribs were broken by this defendant,” Grace began, with an air of deliberate drama. “Jennifer Flores’s jaw on one side was broken by this defendant—and for good measure the other side of the jaw was also broken by this defendant.”

And then, added the prosecutor, “this defendant made a conscious decision to murder Jennifer Flores—he got close to Jennifer Flores and strangled her to death on his living room floor” before dumping her body in front of a house on 5211 Loleta Ave. The evidence in the case, said Grace, will show that Del Toro had “no reason to murder Jennifer Flores—he wasn’t Jennifer Flores’ husband, he wasn’t Jennifer Flores’ boyfriend, he wasn’t in business with Jennifer Flores. He had no connection with Jennifer Flores that would excite the passion of an ordinary citizen.”

The defense attorney, Joseph Gutierrez, also built his storyline around Del Toro—starting with the year 1983, when this graduate of Franklin High School joined the LAFD. “He dedicated 23 years of his life to protecting the lives and properties of others,” Gutierrez said, adding: “He literally worked his way up the ladder of the fire department to become captain.”

In the two weeks preceding Flores’s murder, Del Toro worked numerous 24-hour shifts, logging a total of 216 hours from Aug. 1 through Aug. 16, 2006. “You will hear from experts how overwork affects brain chemistry,” Gutierrez told the jury, laying the groundwork for what is likely to be his key argument in defending Del Toro: That the fire captain was grossly overworked and fatigued—and that he could not possibly have murdered Flores because he was not in his senses, which were further dulled by the consumption of large amounts of alcohol.

Gutierrez said Del Toro's blood-alcohol level following his arrest on Aug. 16, 2006 was .12, well above the .08 limit for driving under the influence. Flores' blood-alcohol level was as high as .38, he said. 

During a Grand Jury hearing in November 2006, several witnesses who knew Del Toro well, including his one-time girlfriend Monica Gibo, testified that he had an alcohol problem, prompting the LAFD to disclose that Del Toro attended 52 domestic violence-counseling sessions in 2003-04, as well as 43 Alcoholics Anonymous classes. Del Toro was denied bail and has been in jail since the Grand Jury hearing.

Gutierrez described Del Toro as a "gregarious" man who had many friends. "If a fireman needed a place to stay for the night, he would be told 'stay at David Del Toro's house,'" Gutierrez said. Flores, too, stayed at Del Toro's house one night, although Gutierrez agreed with prosecutor Grace that Del Toro barely knew Flores. Gutierrez described her as a homeless person who lived in her car and who, according to her brother, Richard Flores, was depressed in the days leading to her murder.

Gutierrez acknowledged that Flores and Del Toro were together on the day of the murder and that the fire captain had a few drinks with her at his house. But he was so tired that he “hit a wall of exhaustion.” In fact, Del Toro was in a “twilight zone because of sleep deprivation and alcohol” when Flores left with a stranger who showed up at the house, Gutierrez said. As far as Del Toro’s memory serves him, the stranger gave his name as Nick or Rick, Gutierrez said, and after Flores left with him, the fire captain called her several times and spoke with her, the longest call lasting a little more than five minutes.

However, in a PowerPoint preview of graphic images of Flores’ battered body, Grace demonstrated to the jury that LAPD investigators found pools of Flores’ blood in Del Toro’s living room as well as such incriminating items as rope and working gloves that had Del Toro’s DNA on the inside and Flores’ on the outside. The prosecutor also told the jury that the evidence showed that someone had tried to clean up the blood and other incriminating items in Del Toro's house.

Grace then told the grim-faced jurors, some of whom were visibly disturbed, about a “DNA path to the defendant’s house”—that is, a trail of blood-stained tracks from the tires on Del Toro’s Toyota Tundra truck that led from the spot where Flores’ body was found all the way up north via Hill Drive to 5127 Vincent Ave., Del Toro’s residence.

“He decided that Jennifer Flores had to die,” Grace said of Del Toro. “It was murder and we will prove it you.”

Witnesses in the case are expected to begin testifying Thursday morning, and the case is scheduled to conclude by the judge’s appointed deadline of Feb. 18.