Fatal love triangle outlined
Opening statements began Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of fatally stabbing a Burbank man nearly six years ago in what prosecutors said was jealousy over a woman.
Jorge Villalobos, 47, is accused of stabbing Glen Giles to death after Giles had gone to bed in his Burbank home on Feb. 25, 2008. Prosecutors said Villalobos was driven by bitterness over a love triangle that included a woman, Christina Ingram.
The 47-year-old Giles was found dead the next morning on the front porch of his neighbor’s home. Giles, who suffered 32 stab wounds, left a trail of blood from his bedroom, across the street, up his neighbor’s driveway, and on the doorbell.
“Glen lost blood with every step,” prosecutor Stephanie Mire told jurors as Giles’ loved ones wept in the courtroom.
Giles’ neighbor, Duane Dow, a retired police lieutenant who spent 35 years with the Burbank Police Department, testified Wednesday that he discovered the body of his neighbor — who he called a “friendly, big giant” — on his front porch at around 10 a.m. on Feb. 26, 2008, just as he was about to take his morning walk with his wife.
Villalobos was arrested the day after Giles’ body was found.
Prosecutors said Giles’ blood was found inside Villalobos’ car. But his attorney, James Blatt, claimed Wednesday that the blood was planted in Villalobos’ 2004 Ford Mustang by Burbank police.
Blatt contended that Giles had a “ferocious fight” with whoever attacked him, but no scratches or injuries were found on Villalobos when he was arrested.
Villalobos had reportedly dated Ingram for two years before she began dating Giles, Mire said. She added that Ingram had attempted to break off the relationship with Villalobos, but “the defendant’s ego did not like that rejection.”
Blatt rejected the idea that the case involved a jealous love triangle, as both Villalobos and Ingram were seeing other people, and added that no murder weapon was ever recovered.
During February 2008, Villalobos placed 18 blocked calls to Giles’ cellphone, Mire said, referring to records from Verizon. The last call came in to Giles at 10:34 p.m. the night before his body was discovered, shortly after the victim returned from a wedding celebration at a local Elks club.
Giles’ cellphone, which was taken during the attack, was never recovered.
Villalobos is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated Villalobos is 41-years-old. This is incorrect. He is 47-years-old.
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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.
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