Hollister
– District Attorney Candice Hooper said Wednesday she will seek
the death penalty for the 25-year-old Hollister man accused of
stabbing his girlfriend to death in March.
Hollister – District Attorney Candice Hooper said Wednesday she will seek the death penalty for the 25-year-old Hollister man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death in March.
Samuel Turner, who appeared in court for an arraignment hearing Wednesday, is eligible for the death penalty because he has been charged with first-degree murder and mayhem in connection with the March strangling and stabbing death of 31-year-old Hollister resident Elizabeth Esther Gomez. District Attorney Candice Hooper said the mayhem charge was added because of the brutality of the crime.
Turner did not enter a plea to the charges, and his arraignment was postponed for a fourth time Wednesday.
Authorities have been unable to determine how many times Gomez was stabbed.
The victim’s brother, Victor Gomez, said he did not care whether Turner received the death penalty.
“I don’t have a preference,” Gomez said. “I just want justice for my sister.”
The brother also shed new light on Turner’s past. Gomez said his sister visited Turner several times during his stay at Atascadero State Hospital.
Atascadero State Hospital is a state-sponsored facility that provides rehabilitation for people who have been found incompetent to stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, mentally ill or sexually violent, according to the hospital’s Web site.
Gomez added that the family recently learned through one of the victim’s friends that Turner physically abused his sister during their three-year, off-and-on relationship.
“I know that my sister was physically hurt prior to this incident,” Gomez said.
The family was unaware of the abuse, and Gomez hopes others can learn from what happened to his sister. He said there is help for women who are victims of abuse.
“I hope that something good comes out of this,” Gomez said.
At the request of Turner’s lawyer, Harry Damkar, the arraignment and entrance of a plea was continued to May 2.
Damkar requested the hearing be delayed until he could finish his own investigation into the case.
“Our request is based on not what the prosecution gave us today but on our investigation,” Damkar said.
Authorities believe Turner strangled and stabbed Elizabeth Esther Gomez in her second-story apartment on Prospect Avenue on March 13. Hollister Police Department officers found Turner in the woman’s bedroom, Capt. Bob Brooks previously told the Free Lance.
Both Turner and Elizabeth Esther Gomez had been seen together in the days preceding the murder. Victor Gomez said the apartment manager told him she saw them two hours before the crime.
“She said they walked up the stairs holding hands,” Gomez said.
Turner is being held at the San Benito County Jail without bail. He will be in court again May 2 and is expected to enter a plea.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
