The Free Lance has obtained the transcript of testimony Nancy
Polizzi gave March 27 during the murder trial of Francisco Vega in
Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The Free Lance has obtained the transcript of testimony Nancy Polizzi gave March 27 during the murder trial of Francisco Vega in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The trial, which ended April 4, sent the second of two men to prison for the rest of his life after the slaying of David Owens, a San Jose construction worker, in 2004.
Polizzi, of Hollister, has admitted to previously having relationships with both the victim and one of the killers – Joshua Joseph, who is her stepson – prior to the murder.
Questioned by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Carr and defense attorney Adrienne Dell, Polizzi testified about her relationships with the men, her trip with Joseph and Vega to Fresno where the two men bought the murder weapon, that she didn’t know about the plot to kill Owens and why she didn’t warn anyone when she thought he was in danger.
How it began
The testimony begins with Carr asking Polizzi details of her relationship with David Owens. Polizzi said she had been in touch with Owens for about a year before his release from prison. She had served as a go-between for Joseph, of Hollister, and Owens so the two friends could send letters to each other. She said one of those letters from Owens was written to her and that, soon after, they began regularly writing each other, according to the transcript.
When Owens was released, Polizzi said they spoke over the phone for about a week, according to the transcript. She then picked him up at the Los Gatos Department of Motor Vehicles and they drove to Vasona Park. At the park she testified that they talked for a while, then had sex in her truck before she drove him to his home in San Jose.
Carr used phone records to show that after the encounter at Vasona Park, Polizzi began calling Owens frequently, up to nine times per day, but that Owens declined to continue the relationship.
“So I just didn’t understand why he didn’t call to say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ Or, ‘what’s up?'” she testified. “I just didn’t understand that … I just said, ‘Thanks for the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.'”
Although Polizzi testified she felt slighted by Owens, she said she was excited for Joseph to be released and described having sex with him the night he was let out of prison May 29 and continuing to have relations with him regularly through Aug. 8, when Owens was killed.
Polizzi said in the testimony that about a week after Joseph was released, she told Joseph she had slept with Owens. She described being asked several times by Joseph if she had sex with anyone besides him or his father, Polizzi’s husband, Marc Polizzi.
Nancy Polizzi eventually told Joseph she had sex with Owens, according to the transcript, and that Joseph replied, “David is dead.”
Polizzi then describes giving several items to Joseph including a motorcycle; a “brand-new” Ford Mustang, which was later returned; a credit card, which he used later to buy a Chrysler car; and clothes.
She testified that he thanked her for the generosity.
“I was sitting in the backyard having a cigarette, and he came outside and he expressed how much he loved me, and asked… ‘Ask anything of me, and I’d do it.'” she testified.
“I asked him to leave David alone … He said something like, ‘It’s out of my hands.'”
Carr asked Polizzi if she was concerned Joseph might hurt Owens. Polizzi said she was concerned Joseph might “beat up” Owens but that she did not think it was necessary to warn anyone.
Buying the gun
Polizzi and Joseph had taken a trip to San Jose about two weeks before the murder, she testified. While there, Joseph and Owens met at a Quizno’s. Joseph later said he had expected Owens to admit to his affair with Polizzi.
“The only thing I remember him (Joseph) saying is: ‘I gave him a chance to tell me, and he didn’t tell me,'” Polizzi testified.
Car asked Polizzi about an Aug. 1 trip to Fresno she had taken with Joseph. During this trip, they picked up Vega, drove into a bad neighborhood for a “pit-stop,” then drove back to Hollister, the transcript reads.
Polizzi said before the trip, Joseph had asked her to bring $125 for “CDs” that he was going to purchase, record and then return to the store.
She said that when they stopped in the bad Fresno neighborhood, Joseph asked for the money and then he and Vega went into a house for about 15 minutes while she waited in the car. She testified she had no idea they were buying a gun.
Later when they arrived back in Hollister, Polizzi testified that Vega asked her for latex gloves. She said she did not question the request or think it was unusual.
Polizzi described in her testimony Joshua receiving his driver’s license Aug. 4, then using the credit card she had given him to buy a Chrysler.
Polizzi also testified that between Aug. 8 and Aug. 12 she gave Joseph about $1,000 to start a marijuana business, although she said she had made it clear it could not be operated out of her home.
The testimony ended after a brief cross-examination by Vega’s defense attorney who focused on several purchases Polizzi admitted to making for Joseph.
Polizzi also noted that since Joseph was transferred out of San Benito County Jail in 2004, she has had no contact with him.
– Curtis Cartier
