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Defense attorney Ronald Benavides ended his brief opening remarks by telling jurors Irvin Ramirez, 25, did not harm 23-year-old Danielle Gorectke of Minocqua, Wis., whose half-nude body was found outside a church on Hwy. B the morning of Jan. 21.
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Irvin Ramirez looks around the courtroom before his trail started Tuesday morning in front of Judge Ramona Gonzalez . Dick Riniker photo |
For the prosecution's opening arguments, click here. For the defense's opening arguments, click here.
Testimony opened Tuesday in the trial of Ramirez, of Onalaska, Wis., who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted second-degree sexual assault and robbery in the death.
“(Ramirez) will testify that he did have contact with the young lady, that he came upon her already hurt and he tried to help her. He gave her his cell phone and left the scene ... ,” Benavides said.
Benavides’ remarks came after La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke laid out evidence he claimed directly tied Ramirez to Gorectke’s death.
Ramirez’s DNA was found on Gorectke’s buttocks, under her fingernails and on a piece of human tissue ripped from Gorectke’s lip, Gruenke said.
A search of Ramirez’s car turned up Gorectke’s fingerprints, her DNA on a water jug, and bloodstains on the driver’s side door and driver’s floor mat, Gruenke told the jury.
Gorectke’s DNA also was found on Ramirez’s genitalia and her blood was on his shoes, pants, watch, jacket and hands, Gruenke said.
Houston County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Scott Yeiter testified Tuesday about arresting Ramirez about 4 a.m. Jan. 21 outside a La Crescent, Minn., Kwik Trip on suspicion of drunken driving.
Yeiter, then a La Crescent police officer, said Ramirez had Gorectke’s purse in his vehicle and was wearing gloves that covered his bloody hands and black pants over denim jeans that also were covered in blood.
Jurors were shown large autopsy photos as Dr. Susan Roe, the forensic pathologist at the Southeastern Minnesota Medical Examiner’s Office in Hastings, Minn., detailed Gorectke’s extensive injuries.
Roe said the death was caused by multiple traumatic injuries due to an assault. The amount of blood at the scene indicates the fatal beating took place outside the church, but Roe said it was impossible to determine how long it took Gorectke to die.
In cross-examining Roe, Benavides asked whether the injuries could have been from an accidental fall and whether the weather or amount of alcohol Gorectke had consumed played a role in the death.
Roe said the extent of the injuries makes it unlikely they were accidental: The 23-year-old had at least 25 separate injuries, including one to her spine that likely left her partially paralyzed. Her head might have been rammed into an object or stomped, Roe said, and a portion of her lip was gone and perhaps bitten off by someone else.
Although the autopsy failed to show any signs, Roe said that does not mean Gorectke was not sexually assaulted.
Gorectke’s sister, Michelle, testified the two became separated Jan. 21 about closing time at The Helm Bar after celebrating Michelle’s 21st birthday.
Snowplow operator Terry La Fleur told jurors he found Gorectke’s snow-covered body about 8 a.m. later that day while clearing the parking lot at Christ Covenant Church, 3630 Hwy. B.
Several La Crosse police officers and investigators testified about finding Ramirez’s cell phone not far from Gorectke’s body. The last call made was to Gorectke’s mother at 3:12 a.m., and lasted three seconds, police Sgt. Dave Schatzley said.
Julie Schupple, a sexual assault nurse examiner with Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, said Ramirez had cuts and abrasions on his hands when examined at the Houston County Jail on Jan. 21.
Before the examination, Ramirez was seen at the jail licking blood from his fingers to try to hide the evidence, Gruenke said.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. today in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
Click on the following links for past stories about this case:
Judge denies Ramirez’s change of venue request
Cell phone offers clue in Ramirez case
Ramirez charged with homicide, attempted sexual assault, robbery; bond set at $1 million
Slaying suspect back in La Crosse
Slain woman found at church; police arrest bloody Onalaska man after drunken driving stop
Dan Springer can be reached at dspringer@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8269.
