BAKERSFIELD Calif. (KGET) — The trial of Rafael Estrada, charged with murder in the stabbing death of his estranged wife, resumed Friday morning with emotional testimony from one of the slain woman’s daughters.
The 14-year-old, at times speaking through tears, described witnessing her mother’s death and running to get help. She said Estrada and her mother argued briefly before he pulled a knife and slit her throat.
Earlier in her testimony, the girl looked toward Estrada and quietly said, “I’m sorry.”
Asked by a prosecutor why she apologized, she said Estrada was part of her life for a long time and she loves him — but she was telling the truth about what happened.
17 News is live blogging the proceedings.
Estrada, 45, stabbed his wife in the neck in front of two her children after arriving uninvited at the house on Monterey Street where they were staying in May of last year.
Deputy Public Defender Jacob Evans doesn’t dispute his client killed Taylor Estrada. But he said Rafael Estrada should be found guilty of second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder, arguing the killing wasn’t premeditated.
Prosecutor Leanne Wilder has said Rafael Estrada showed up at the house with a pocketknife and box cutter in his pockets. She said during her opening statement she believes sufficient evidence will be presented to find him guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder.
After the stabbing, Rafael Estrada fled the home and led deputies on a chase in a pickup that ended when he pulled into a church parking lot. He was taken into custody through force that included using a K-9.
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