Smith County District Attorney to seek death penalty in Kayla Gomez-Orozco case
TYLER, TX (KLTV) - When the Bullard man accused of abducting and killing 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco goes on trial in October, he will be facing the death penalty if found guilty.
Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham filed his intent to seek the death penalty in the case on Wednesday morning. Bingham cannot speak on the case due to a gag order, but a document filed in Smith County’s 241st District Court states the prosecution’s intention.
Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, 24, was arrested and charged with capital murder this past November after the body of Gomez-Orozco was discovered inside a water well outside his residence off Old Jacksonville Highway in southern Smith County. Family reported Gomez-Orozco missing after a church service in Bullard on Nov. 1. Zavala-Garcia, who is related to the child through marriage, is named among those who were the last to see her alive.
Zavala-Garcia has remained jailed in Smith County on a $10 million bond and immigration detainer.
In February, Zavala-Garcia was involved in an incident in the recreation area on top of the Smith County Jail, when he climbed a basketball goal and refused to come down. Officials said the incident is not regarded as an escape attempt, there were no injuries and no additional charges were added to Zavala-Garcia’s arrest record.
The first pre-trial hearing in the case is set for April 27, in the 241st District Court in Smith County. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in August for the Oct. 2 trial.
http://www.kltv.com/story/35201651/s...ez-orozco-case
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