Jury deliberations continued this week in the federal murder trial of a South Bay man who is accused of killing his wealthy boyfriend in Mexico in 2015 so he could inherit his estate.
The eight woman four man jury began deliberations Monday afternoon after hearing closing arguments in the case against David Enrique Meza, 26, who is accused of killing Jake Merendino, 52.
Jurors asked to re-hear a taped recorded interview of Meza by a San Diego Police detective and heard parts of it Wednesday. They were to hear the rest of it on Thursday with U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller presiding.
Meza, 26, is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with the May 2, 2015 stabbing of Merendino, who was attacked as he got out of his car off a dark road near Rosarito, Mexico, around 2 a.m.
Jurors saw gruesome photos of Merendino, whose throat was slashed twice with 22 stab wounds inflicted in the chest and back.
The killer dragged his 310-pound body 33 feet into a ravine, something Meza’s attorney, Richard Deke Falls, said Meza could not do by himself. Falls also said there must have been two people stabbing Merendino.
There was a heavy blood trail from where Merendino was attacked to the ravine, though it might not have been visible to the killer.
There is no DNA, bloody clothing, footprints, or fingerprints of Meza associated with the scene, argued Falls, who urged jurors to acquit him.
Merendino was 6’4” tall and had a heart condition that limited a lot of walking. He engaged in sex with Meza “when he’s up to it,” according to Meza’s statement with a detective.
After his death, Meza mailed a handwritten will to the probate court in Texas, where Merendino lived. Jurors saw the handwritten 1-page will in which someone scrawled “I leave everything to David E. Meza” and someone signed Merendino’s name.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ciaffa said Meza changed clothes somewhere before he entered the U.S. border on his red motorcycle that Merendino had given him for Christmas in 2014 which cost $11,665. Border cameras show he wore different clothes entering the U.S. than when he went into Mexico.
Meza’s cell phone confirms he was within 100 yards of the murder site at the time, Ciaffa said, according to pings from Global Positioning Service records.
The jury will not have to decide whether it is first or second-degree murder because the charge is murder of a U.S. citizen in a foreign country. The jurisdiction is federal because the conspiracy occurred in the South Bay with Meza and his girlfriend, Taylor Langston, 22, who is a graduate of Chula Vista High School.
Langston, who is now Meza’s wife and has a baby, has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in creating a phony alibi for Meza at the time of the murder. She was not charged with participating in the murder and remains free on $50,000 bond.
“He was gay for pay. He sent Jake naked pictures to keep Jake interested,” said Ciaffa.
Ciaffa said Merendino signed a document that listed Meza as the beneficiary of a Rosarito condo worth $273,000. It became official April 30, and Merendino was killed two days later.
“I really hate this guy. I hate him so much,” wrote Meza in e-mail to his girlfriend which was read to the jury.
Ciaffa told jurors Merendino purchased a car for Meza for $45,300, and wired him $20,000 two days after receiving his first “I love you” e-mails from Meza.
After the death, Meza drained Merendino’s bank account, the prosecutor said. He asked jurors why would his girlfriend give an alibi for where Meza was that night if he had not done anything wrong.
“Every day I wake up feeling guilty,” said Meza in a voice mail message to his girlfriend which was played to the jury.
Meza didn’t say what it was he felt guilty about, but told his girlfriend he had “remorse.” He added, “I hate myself for what I did.”
“The trail leads to David Meza and no one else. Don’t let him lie out of this one,” said Ciaffa to jurors.
Falls argued that jurors must conclude that Meza had the intent to commit murder before he crossed the border into Mexico. He said someone else killed Merendino.
Attorney Carron Haight testified she prepared Merendino’s will in 1998 and that he intended for his estate to go to wildlife causes and “worthy animals.”
She testified Meza contacted her about Merendino’s death and mentioned he had a 1-page will leaving him everything. Haight testified she called the FBI after that.
Meza did not testify and his attorney only called other federal agents who worked on the case. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail without bail. If he is convicted, he faces a life sentence in federal prison.
