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The Williamson County SUN Georgetown, TexasSection ), Page 14Thursday, July 14, 19/7■mm** •***'c%!\A*I#Itt% ■*D1HTKH T JUDGE William S l/»tl listens as Kandy Kurt.Jama Carol Hickham's roommate at Southwestern, testifiesduring the capital murder trialDrawingn by Jana Steinmetz★ Murder(Continued from page I)the Introduction of each group ofphotographs, saying that the photoswere not necessary to the trial and were only being used to inflame thejuryJOEHENRY( HI /.thedefendant scousin from Bastrop, Texas.testiflfied Tuesday that he had spentmuch of Monday, Decemtier 20. with MunizCruz said that he Muniz and thedefender's brother had spent the afternoon driving argund to Jarrelland Walburg playing pool and drinking beerMe said that each of them had consumed approximately 14 or 15 beers, but they were not intoxicated • I W \S KEELING pretty good.” hut not intoxicated, said Cruz, who also testified that he has been known to drink as many as 36 beers lt;ruz said that the defendent had not had any drugs or marijuana that day 'The three of them stopped at Cruz’s uncle s house in the »W block of Austin Avenue early in the evening to borrowCruz He tei2/ou/ilYleAAaqeQjCAMAWANT ADSsome money,that he and the defendant's brother had gone inside for 20 to 30 minutes, leaving Muniz in the car.THEY got back,V\ HENthefendant was no longer in the car, said Cruz Cruz’s uncle's house is just a few blocks south of the spot where the missing girl's belongings were found the next day Cruz said that he did notsee Muniz again until around noon thenext tlay1 noticed a knot on his forehead the next day like someone had hit him with their fist.” said CruzGeorge Hurtado, a 29 year old Georgetown construction worker, testified that tie and his girlfriend were driving south on Austin Ave at about 7 10 pm on Dec 20 and saw Muniz following a girl with red hair dressed in purple across the North San Gabriel bridge Mike Maldonado Sr , a truck driver for the city of Georgetown, testified that he saw Muniz coming up from the other side of the river about 9 p.m DIG JOSEIMI JAt IIIMCZYK, ChiefMedical Examiner for Harris County in Houston, testified to the condition of Hickham’s body He said that the cause of death was a fractured skull suffered inassociation with forcible rapeHe testified that there were 9 tmpact points on her head and face.probably done with a blunt instrumentand multiple drag marks on both sides of the bodyHE TESTIFIED that the internaldamage to the victim and the presence of spermatozoa indicated that the victim had been raped He said Jams Biekham had been anatomically avirginthe assaultWalsh introduced 13 color photographs taken of the victim’s body just prior to the autopsyDefense attorney Jesse Boteilo, inobjecting to the introduction of the photographs said, “their only purpose is to inflame the mind of the jury ” Judge Dtt overruled the objections and admitted most of the photographs as evidence Defense attorneys objected to almost every piece of evidence in troduced by the state during the first two days of the trial Georgetown Police Officer Mike Loney testified that he pulled the undergarments out of the river with a grapling hook and found a purpleblouse These were the last things worn by Jams Biekham, he said During cross examination by defense attorneys, Iwiney said that the garments had not been tornBeaumont surveyor Steve Williamstestified to finding a Bible, purple poncho, shoes and a blue denim billfold near some torn bushes on the west side of Austin Ave between the North San Gabriel Kiver bridge and the Sonic Drive In on December 2 atabout 10-10 30 a m HIS DISCOVERY started thesearch for a missing person on December 21 Mrs Benjamin Garcia, wife of a local Baptist minister, testified thatshe had washed the undergarments found by Loney on December 19. while Biekham was a weekend guest at her house She said she had later driven Biekham back to her dorm that Sunday, December 20 She also identified the Bible found at the site near the bushes as belonging to JaniceKandy Kurt, a student at South western, testified that she was Hickham's roommate for the year and a half the victim attended Southwestern Biekham was a sophomore art major at the time of her death SHE SAID that she last saw Biekham in their room at 3 p.m. on December 20Otis Biekham Matagorda County Treasurer and Jams’s father, took the stand Monday for a few minutes looking bent and sad from the useless tragedy of his daughter's death He identified his daughter's high school picture, in a wooden frame, as evidence for the trialDefense Attorney Sandoval that the introduction of the high school picture was irrelevant to the case and was meant to arouse the emotion ofthe juryGEORGETOWN Police officersJesse Labit and William Shirley testified to finding the body under a driftwood pile near an abandoned swimming pool between the North and South forks of the San Gabriel River just west of Austin Avenue on December 22.Walsh introduced photographs showing the body before it was removed from the woodpile Shirley testified that they found drag marks from the bath house near the swimming pool to where the body was found ‘ THE BODY appeared brutally beaten, nude and covered with driftwood and debris,” said Shirley Victor Mahagan, DPS trooper, testified to arresting Muniz in the early morning hours of December 23.AFTER THE STATE has presented all its witnesses, the defense attorneys will present their witnesses.Judge lott did not sequester the jury Jury members are allowed to go home each night with the warning that they are not to talk about the case with anyone.Jury members are Charles Pickettwand Mrs. Shirley L. Miller of Georgetown; Mrs. Leonard L, Wynn and Mrs. Joseph H Bonnett of Leander; W C Roberts of Cedar Park; Dale Edward Werner and Anne C. Bennett of Round Rock; Curtis C. Stauffer, Gene Finn and Mrs James Schroeder of Taylor; and Ruben E. Trevino and James D Turner who have Austin addresses but who live in Williamson County.Jarrell school board meets July 14The regular meeting ofJarrell’s Independent School District is scheduled July 14 at 8:00 P.M. in the Special Services RoomMajor items on the agend, include building im provements, operationa policies and changes, per sonnel needs and salaries and equitable taxation.
Newspaper Details
The Williamson County Sun
Georgetown, Texas, US
Thu, Jul 14, 1977
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert P.
NA, 13 May 2021
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