September 6, 2005
A jury began hearing testimony today in the murder trial of Joel Salinas.
Salinas is accused of killing Candido Bello-Rivera with a kitchen knife in October of 2004.
In opening statements today, prosecutors painted a picture of Salinas as a brutal murderer while the defense began outlining its strategy saying the stabbing was not premeditated.
According to today's testimony, there seems to be no question that Joel Salinas stabbed Bello-Rivera last June. What's being debated are the circumstances surrounding the murder.
The defendant and members of the victims family lived in side by side apartments on North Berkshire Road.
And on the night of the killing, prosecutors say a fight broke out between family members in the street.
Salinas, they say, then walked out of an apartment and stabbed Bello-Rivera once in the chest with a kitchen knife.
A ten-inch knife was found not far from the scene.
Tomorrow testimony will continue from key witnesses.
