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Former Harlingen police detective testifies for hours in murder trial

Former Harlingen police detective testifies for hours in murder trial
2 months 4 weeks 2 days ago Friday, September 27 2024 Sep 27, 2024 September 27, 2024 9:03 PM September 27, 2024 in News - Local

Week one of a capital murder trial in Cameron County is now over; the jury is scheduled to return Monday.

Salomon Campos Jr. is accused of killing his uncle Ernesto Gonzales.

The jury was shown more than a dozen new pictures of the day Gonzales's remains were found. Authorities say they were found on Campos' goat farm.

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Only one witness took the stand on Friday.

Harlingen police detective Joel Yanes was assigned to the investigation, and he testified for around seven hours.

The pictures shown during his testimony were taken on June 23, 2020, the day Gonzales's remains found. That was three years after he was reported missing.

The pictures showed bones, a clump of hair and a skull with duct tape covering what appeared to be the mouth; there was also a chain.

Prosecutors asked Yanes what the evidence revealed. Yanes said that it appeared Gonzales had been restrained and murdered.

The defense showed Yanes a chain similar to the one used to restrain Gonzales. They asked if a lock was needed to secure the chain in place, Yanes said yes. 

The defense then asked if a lock was recovered, Yanes said no.

Testimony in the trial will pick back up Monday morning.

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