Fate of two women in fatal nightclub beating goes to the jury

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Vanesa Zavala, center, and Candace Brito, left, shown in a Santa Ana courtroom, were each sentenced to six years in prison for the beating death of 23-year-old Kim Pham outside a trendy Santa Ana nightclub. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Candace Brito, left, fights to hold back tears in a Santa Ana courtroom, where she was sentenced with Vanesa Zavala, right, to six years in prison. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Vanesa Zavala, right, and Candace Brito, left, were each sentenced to six years in prison for the beating death of Kim Pham. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends and family react after two women are convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Kim Pham after a brawl outside a Santa Ana nightclub. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dung Pham, the father of beating victim Kim Pham, addresses the media following the sentencing of Vanesa Zavala and Candace Brito. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Defendants Candace Brito, left, and Vanesa Zavala enter a Santa Ana courtroom July 22, when attorneys began closing arguments in the case against the women who are facing charges relating to the beating death of 23-year-old Annie Kim Pham. (Joshua Sudock / Associated Press)

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Candace Brito, left, and Vanesa Zavala enter court for their trial in Santa Ana on July 9. (Mark Rightmire / Associated Press)

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Suspects Vanesa Tapia Zavala, left, and Candace Marie Brito attend a preliminary hearing in the beating death of Kim Pham. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Borris in court. On screen is a video of the Kim Pham beating -- one of several pieces of evidence presented during the first day of a preliminary hearing for Candace Marie Brito and Vanesa Tapia Zavala, who are facing charges in Pham’s death. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorney Kenneth Alan Reed, left, sits next to his client Vanesa Tapia Zavala, second from left, and Michael Molfetta sits next to his client, Candace Marie Brito, during their preliminary hearing in the beating death of Kim Pham. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Vanesa Tapia Zavala arrives for a preliminary hearing at the West Justice Center in Westminster. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Candace Marie Brito arrives for a preliminary hearing at the West Justice Center in Westminster. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Defense attorneys Kenneth Alan Reed, left, and Michael Molfetta meet with reporters outside of the West Justice Center in Westminster after their clients, Vanesa Tapia Zavala and Candace Marie Brito, were ordered to stand trial on murder charges in the beating death of Kim Pham. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Troy Pino meets with reporters outside of the West Justice Center in Westminster after a judge ruled that Candace Marie Brito and Vanesa Tapia Zavala will stand trial in the murder of Kim Pham. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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The family of Kim Pham exits the West Justice Center in Westminster. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Dung Pham prays for his daughter, Annie Hung “Kim” Pham, 23, of Huntington Beach, during a memorial Mass for her at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners hold flowers and a portrait of Kim Pham as they watch pallbearers carry Pham’s casket after a memorial Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster on Tuesday. The family later took the urn with Kim’s remains to place next to her mother’s urn at Melrose Abbey in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Pallbearers carry Kim Pham’s casket in Westminster on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The funeral Mass for Kim Pham was held Tuesday at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A mourner pauses near the hearse outside Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners embrace after the memorial Mass for Kim Pham at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends and family pay their respects as they attend a public viewing of Annie Hung “Kim” Pham at Brothers of St. Patrick in Midway City on Monday. Pham was beaten to death outside the Crosby Bar and Nightclub in Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A couple embrace as they pay their respects at a public viewing of Kim Pham at Brothers of St. Patrick in Midway City on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Candles, incense and flowers surround a portrait of Kim Pham displayed during a public viewing at Brothers of St. Patrick in Midway City on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends of Kim Pham, 23, who was beaten to death outside the Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana, embrace at the scene and memorial where she was attacked Wednesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends and family have left a large memorial for Kim Pham, 23, who was beaten to death outside the Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Adolfo Flores

July 23, 2014 3:08 PM PT

The fate of two women accused of fatally beating a 23-year-old newlywed outside a nightclub in Santa Ana’s historic district is expected to be handed to jurors Wednesday afternoon.

Candace Brito and Vanesa Zavala are accused of kicking Kim Pham in the head after she fell to the sidewalk during a chaotic and violent brawl. Witnesses have offered conflicting testimony on how the fight unfolded and video shot on cellphones yielded no clear image of what prosecutors said were the fatal kicks to Pham’s temple.

Attorneys for the defendants, who are charged with second-degree murder, told jurors the evidence doesn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they killed Pham, a recent college graduate who was out with friends. But prosecutors said the two Santa Ana women kicked Pham in the head, with Zavala dealing the fatal blow before Pham went limp.

The fight outside the Crosby on Jan. 18 started after a friend of the defendants bumped into Pham. After a brief verbal altercation, the disagreement boiled into a fight that defense attorneys claim was ignited by Pham, who threw the first punch.

Pham was taken off life support and pronounced dead three days later.

Zavala’s attorney, Kenneth Reed, said the videos don’t show his client’s kick landing on Pham’s head and pointed to the preliminary testimony of a forensic pathologist who said she couldn’t determine whether a specific blow or combination of blows killed Pham. During the trial, the pathologist said it was likely that a combination of blows killed the Westminster resident.

“You don’t know the answer and you need to know the answer in order to convict my client,” Reed said.

Michael Molfetta said his client, Brito, had the right to defend herself and her friend, who he said was being repeatedly punched by Pham. He also said the two videos shown in court failed to prove the prosecution’s case.

“If that video was the end all, be all, we wouldn’t have had the parade of liars that we had here,” Molfetta said, referring to Pham’s friends who testified in court.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Troy Pino said multiple witnesses said they saw Brito kick the victim in the head, adding that the cellphone footage shows her gritting her teeth right before she kicks Pham a second time.

“You can see it in her face,” Pino said.

He likened Brito’s kicks to loosening a jar, with Zavala dealing the final fatal kick that left Pham brain dead.

“I’m asking you to hold the defendants accountable for their conduct,” Pino told jurors. “Ms. Pham has already paid for her conduct.”

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