Prosecutors in
Columbia, Mo., on Friday asked a jury to convict a former
police officer of killing a gay college student with whom he
had had an affair. The jury began deliberating shortly after
2 p.m.
Jesse Valencia, 23, who attended the University of
Missouri-Columbia, was last seen at a party early June 5,
2004, in his neighborhood east of campus. A neighbor in the
building reported hearing Valencia arguing with someone
early that morning. The student's body was found later that
day in a nearby yard. His throat had been slashed.
Public defender Valerie Leftwich said the officer,
Steve Rios, initially lied to investigators about his
relationship with Valencia because he did not want fellow
police officers or his wife to know about it. "Evidence that
Steven Rios lies is not evidence that he killed Jesse
Valencia," Leftwich said.
Rios had arrested Valencia in April 2004 for
interfering with him and another officer as they answered a
police call about a loud party. In testimony Friday morning,
Rios said his affair with Valencia began later that night.
He told the jury that he visited Valencia's apartment six
times, including three times while he was on duty, the
Columbia Daily Tribune reported.
Key evidence in the case included DNA recovered from
under Valencia's fingernails and hair found on his chest,
both of which matched that of Rios. Leftwich said that
evidence merely showed the pair had contact and that DNA can
linger for days.
Although the murder weapon was never found,
prosecutors say Valencia's throat was cut with a serrated
knife and that Rios carried a knife that could have caused
such an injury.
In the days following the murder, Rios twice
threatened suicide and for a while was held in a state
mental hospital at Fulton. In January, Rios was moved to the
Boone County Jail pending trial. He resigned from the police
department June 16 and was charged July 1. (AP)