Man Denies Attempted Murder; Says Girlfriend Lied : Courts: The woman says he beat her for years and made her participate in attack on co-worker, who has fled to Mexico.

A Van Nuys construction worker denies he slashed the throat of a purported romantic rival and believes his longtime girlfriend fabricated the charge to ensure she would keep the couple’s child, a defense attorney said Friday.

A Van Nuys Superior Court began deliberations Friday for Jose Hernandez, 25, on trial for attempted murder in an attack on Gustavo Mena on Nov. 29, 1992. Mena did not testify and fled to Mexico.

The chief accuser, former girlfriend Adriana Casillas, testified that she lied to Hernandez by saying she was romantically involved with Mena, an acquaintance who worked with her at a department store. She testified she lied because Hernandez was in a jealous rage and she hoped he would stop beating her.

Testifying that she was forced to participate in the attack as a rite of purification for her supposed infidelity, Casillas said Hernandez forced her to lick Mena’s blood from his fingers.

Mena, now 25, survived the deep wounds, and is believed to be in his native Mexico, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven J. Ipsen.

Hernandez is also on trial for threatening Casillas with a knife and beating her with a hammer and a two-foot, plastic candy cane.

While Casillas gave graphic and gripping descriptions of the attack on Mena and years of beatings that she said she suffered at Hernandez’s hands, the defense presented no witnesses.

“My client has said he’s not guilty,” defense attorney Ronald Allen said. “He didn’t do it.”

Hammering on what he called inconsistencies in Casillas’ testimony, Allen said Casillas’ motive for lying was a desire to keep custody of the couple’s child.

“I can’t tell where the truth is in anything she said,” Allen told the jury. “I can tell you she was interested in getting that child.”

Casillas said she went to police after the couple’s daughter was taken to the Mena family home during a particularly virulent fight the couple had on Dec. 7. When the police said they could not help her retrieve the baby, she told them about the attack on Mena, according to her testimony.

Allen said Casillas has “an ax to grind” and her version of the attack that she supposedly witnessed is completely different from the testimony of a witness who went to Mena’s aid after his throat was cut.

“This whole case,” according to Allen, “depends on whether you find her story as I found her story--incredible. You have to believe all of her story.”