Corona, CA: Judge orders trial for man charged in girlfriend's death

A judge ruled Friday that a 19-year-old man must stand trial on two counts of murder for allegedly killing his pregnant 17-year-old girlfriend and dumping her body in a trash can.

The ruling came after two witnesses - a Fontana police detective and a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy - testified in Fontana Superior Court about their investigation into the death of Anyssia Escamilla, whose body was discovered in a Corona landfill last year, three months after she went missing.

Her boyfriend, Jesus Francisco Avitia Jr., initially told investigators that Escamilla choked herself at his home.

He later confessed that he inflicted the girl's fatal injuries, left her body in a trash can, and watched from a window three days later as her body was loaded into a garbage truck, according to Friday's testimony.

In making his ruling, Judge Dwight W. Moore rejected an argument from Avitia's attorney that the killing was voluntary manslaughter, committed in the "heat of passion" during an argument.

Leaving Escamilla's body in the trash, Moore said, "is not remotely consistent with voluntary manslaughter. (It's) as cold and unemotional an act as I've ever heard in my life."

Avitia and Escamilla were both students at Bloomington High School, and they began dating in January 2009, Fontana police Detective Shawn Hare testified.

Escamilla discovered she was pregnant shortly before her death, and she and Avitia argued over whether she should keep the child, Hare testified.

On May 11, 2010, Avitia and Escamilla left Bloomington High between classes and went to Avitia's home in the 10900 block of Sumac Court, Hare testified.

In interviews with Hare and San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy Jason Costa, Avitia initially said he and Escamilla argued in his bedroom, and she used two hands to strangle herself.

He later confessed that he put Escamilla in a choke-hold, and applied pressure to her neck for 5 to 10 seconds until he heard a pop, the witnesses testified.

Escamilla went limp in Avitia's arms and showed no signs of life. Avitia said he panicked, covered his girlfriend's body with two large trash bags, and loaded her into a trash can that he dragged to the side of his house, the witnesses testified.

Escamilla was 10 to 11 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to prosecutors.

Her body was discovered Aug. 4, 2010 at El Sobrante Landfill in Corona. Her remains were identified using dental records.

Avitia is next due in court Sept. 2. He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $2 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.