Luis Toledo trial: Testimony underway
By Jason Kelly
WFTV News
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Opening statements began Wednesday morning in the murder trial of a 35-year-old Deltona man who is accused of killing his wife and her two children.
Twelve jurors and three alternates -- 11 of whom are women -- were seated Wednesday for opening statements in the trial of Luis Toledo.
Toledo is accused of killing Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Otto, 8, who disappeared from their Deltona home in October 2013 but were never found.
Investigators said Toledo confessed to killing Suarez but denied killing her children. Prosecutors seek the death penalty in the deaths of the childrenToledo was quiet as prosecutors tried to paint him as an angry, jealous husband. They said that his marriage was ending and that he was jealous of an affair Suarez was having.
Prosecutors said Toledo installed a tracking app on her phone to access her location in real time. They said he killed her in a rage and killed her children to eliminate the potential for witnesses before seeking help from a neighbor to dispose of evidence.
"His answer is, 'I'll never tell you where the body is,'" Assistant State Attorney Ryan Will said during opening statements Wednesday. "Not that he doesn't know or blames Tyshawn Jackson. 'I'll never tell you where the bodies are.'"
Defense attorney Jeff Deen said because the bodies haven't been found, it's unknown how the victims died of if they're even dead.
"Because somebody died doens't make it murder, doesn't make it second-degree murder, doesn't make it first-degree murder," Deen said.
Toledo is being tried in St. Augustine because of the publicity the case has received.
The judge chose to not sequester the jury during the trial, which is expected to last through October.
Suarez's mother testified Wednesday afternoon. Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News at 4 to learn what she said.
http://www.wftv.com/news/local/luis-...rway/622988566
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