Jurors deliberating man’s fate in killing of 3 people in Benton County cornfield

There is no dispute that three Pasco residents were found dead in a cornfield at Easterday Farms in August 2014, a defense lawyer said Thursday.

The unknown is exactly what was going on when the man and two women — one of them pregnant — were killed.

“We don’t know who, besides these three individuals, were at Easterday Farms,” Shane Silverthorn argued. “We don’t know who had the pistol and we don’t know who shot the pistol, because there are no eyewitnesses to testify, ‘I was at Easterday Farms and this is what happened.’ ”

Silverthorn tried to poke holes in the investigation as he told jurors there is reasonable doubt that his client, Francisco Resendez Miranda, is responsible for the killings, or that he was even there.

Resendez Miranda, 24, is charged in Benton County Superior Court with one count each of aggravated first-degree murder of David Perez-Saucedo, Abigail Torres-Renteria and Victoria Torres.

The case includes the aggravating circumstances of several victims and that he knew Torres-Renteria was almost nine months pregnant.

Judge Bruce Spanner denied a defense request to let jurors consider the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Silverthorn argued the intention in taking the trio to the rural field may have been to intimidate or threaten them following a break-in at his client’s Umatilla apartment. Resendez Miranda, if he was there that night, might not have known a murder was going to be committed, he said.

But Spanner ruled there are no facts to support a theory other than premeditated murder.

Jurors started deliberating Thursday afternoon after listening to nearly two weeks of testimony. The jury called it a day after two hours and 20 minutes, and will resume discussions Nov. 20.

Silverthorn said the Benton County Sheriff’s Office was quick to zero in on Resendez Miranda as the orchestrator or a participant, and maybe should have spent more time on his friend who had details that only someone involved would know.

While the coroner released information that Perez-Saucedo and Torres-Renteria died from their gunshot wounds, it was kept confidential that Torres was shot once and then strangled with a belt after she tried to get away from her attackers. Yet, Cristian Hurtado knew everything, allegedly because Resendez Miranda told him, the attorney said.

Prosecutor Andy Miller and Deputy Prosecutor Kristin McRoberts reminded jurors that even if they believe Hurtado had a role in the slayings, it doesn’t mean the panel can’t find Resendez Miranda guilty too.

Under Washington law, Resendez Miranda can be convicted of first-degree murder whether he is the principal perpetrator or an accomplice.

Miller pointed out multiple discrepancies in the defendant’s statement to Detective Lee Cantu and the evidence.

Resendez Miranda repeatedly told Cantu he spent the night with his girlfriend, though she testified they had gone their separate ways after meeting earlier at a convenience store. Resendez Miranda also claimed he was at the Umatilla County Fair eating an elephant ear at the same time he was captured on a gas station video chasing Marco Garcia, Miller said.

Why was Resendez Miranda so insistent on perpetrating something that has been proven not to be true, the prosecutor asked. He knew that if he started telling the truth to investigators, then it would lead to evidence showing he is responsible for the three deaths, Miller said.

Resendez Miranda allegedly sold drugs out of his apartment, and he got mad and felt disrespected when he found out it had been broken into, possibly by his friend, Perez-Saucedo.

Resendez Miranda had the motive, he had the gun, he was familiar with the layout of Easterday Farms, he had shoes that matched a print left at the crime scene, and he “confessed three times to four different people,” Miller argued.

Resendez Miranda’s father and two brothers are wanted for questioning, and are believed to have “fled like cowards,” Miller said.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Jurors deliberating man’s fate in killing of 3 people in Benton County cornfield."