MIAMI (WSVN) – Closing arguments have begun in the trial of George Pino, the prominent real estate developer accused in connection to a deadly 2022 boat crash.<\/p>\n
The mogul\u2019s fate will be in the hands of a jury, in the trial over the Labor Day weekend wreck that killed 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez.<\/p>\n
But before deliberations begin, state prosecutors delivered closing statements, Monday morning, with defense attorneys set to deliver their closing arguments after a lunch break.<\/p>\n
The defense argues the crash was a tragic accident, whereas prosecutors believe Pino should be held responsible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meat of it will be for me to address the manslaughter instruction, the vessel homicide instruction, and the request for an instruction on the navigational rules,\u201d said MIami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marissa Tinkler Mendez.<\/p>\n
The crash happened near Boca Chita Key where, prosecutors said, Pino\u2019s boat hit a channel marker.<\/p>\n
It has been an emotional trial from the start, as Pino was overcome with emotion in court, gasping for air and ultimatley suffering a medical emergency.<\/p>\n
When testimony resumed, the emotions continued to run high.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a little head bobbing by the boat,\u201d said Pino\u2019s wife Cecilia.<\/p>\n
Cecilia struggled to get the words out as she took the stand and tried to recall that fatal crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember asking again, \u2018Who is missing? Who is missing?\u2019 And that\u2019s when they told me that Lucy was missing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Survivors also testified, including Lucy\u2019s friends who were on the boat at the time of the crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell us about the speed of the boat,\u201d said defense attorney Jeanelle Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember it feeling it going any faster than our past trips,\u201d said Natalia Reed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you refresh your recollection? You in fact did see Mr. Pino on the floor, bleeding?\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d said Carolina Monterrey.<\/p>\n
Wednesday, Pino chose not to take the stand in his own defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not wish to testify,\u201d said Pino.<\/p>\n
The defense rested its case shortly after.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors then called Lucy\u2019s father, Andres Fernandez, to the stand as a rebuttal witness.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have any plans to go out to the sandbar on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022?\u201d said prosecutor Laura Adams.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d said Andres.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you did?\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I did,\u201d said Andres.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd why did you go?\u201d said Adams.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Lucy asked me to go,\u201d said Andres.<\/p>\n
Another passenger, Katy Puig, was permanently injured in the crash.<\/p>\n
Her father testified about who his daughter was before that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was an incredible athlete,\u201d said Katy\u2019s father Rudy.<\/p>\n
A trial filled with grief and pain will head toward a decision this week.<\/p>\n
The jury will soon decide whether it was a tragic accident or a crime.<\/p>\n
Pino faces charges of vessel homicide and manslaughter, each holding a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
\tJoin our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI (WSVN) – Closing arguments have begun in the trial of George Pino, the prominent real estate developer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-315834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}