Prosecution Rests in Scalding Death
SAN DIEGO — Prosecutors rested their case Thursday in the trial of a Chula Vista woman faced with joining her husband on death row for the torturous scalding death of their 3 1/2-year-old niece in 1995.
After a week of testimony, prosecutor Daniel Goldstein rested his case and jurors were excused until Tuesday, when defense attorneys for Veronica Gonzales will present their case.
Gonzales, 28, blames her husband for the murder, saying that she suffers from battered woman’s syndrome.
Ivan Gonzales, 31, received a death sentence in January for the murder of Genny Rojas, who died after she was submerged in a bathtub of water so hot it peeled the skin from her body.
If Gonzales is found guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances, jurors must then decide between a sentence of life in prison without parole or death.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
