SMITH COUNTY, Texas — The attorney for a man accused of killing a 10-year-old East Texas girl said he will seek to have the capital murder trial relocated.
According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Gustavo Zavala-Garcia's defense attorney said he plans to file a motion for a change of venue, a motion to suppress some evidence and a constitutional motion that will be heard during an April 4 pretrial hearing.
Zavala-Garcia, 26, is accused of the 2016 killing of Kayla Gomez-Orozco and if convicted on the capital murder charge could be sentenced to death.
His defense announced their intentions during a pretrial hearing Thursday in the 241st District Court in Tyler.
In addition, the defense said an expert will review the results of DNA testing conducted by the University of North Texas lab and the review would determine if the defense seeks additional testing.
Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman told the court he had been in touch with the University of North Texas lab where the mitochondrial DNA testing is in the review process.
"They couldn't give me a date," Putman said. "I believe we are on track to have the results next month."
Judge Jack Skeen said additional DNA test results are expected to be returned by the end of April, with Zavala-Garcia's trial slated to begin July 15 after four weeks of jury selection.
On Thursday, Zavala-Garcia was shackled and handcuffed when he was ushered into court and sat surrounded by two court interpreters and his two court-appointed defense attorneys.
