Curiel trial to begin next week

The murder trial against Gonzalo Curiel is scheduled to begin next week. He is facing murder, child abuse and torture charges stemming from a case that started more than two years ago.

Authorities say he and co-defendant Tami Huntsman abused and later killed Delylah, 3, and Shaun Tara, 6, then left their bodies in a Redding storage facility. They are also accused of torturing the children’s older sister who was found in Plumas County.

Since then, there have been a number of holdups in the case, mostly because of Huntsman since she was originally facing the death penalty.

But Curiel’s original attorney was replaced. Also, since he was a minor when the alleged crimes were committed, a juvenile court judge had to decide whether he should be tried as an adult. His case was returned to superior court.

Most recently, his attorney tried but failed to suppress the evidence found in that storage locker. That same day, Huntsman pleaded guilty for her roles in the murders. She will be sentenced on April 25 to two consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.

One month later, Curiel’s trial is finally getting underway. It’s expected to last more than a month and if convicted, he faces 25 years to life.

Criminal defense attorney Brian Worthington is neither associated with the Curiel case nor does he know the facts of the case, but we asked him his thoughts on it.

He says the burden of proof rests on the prosecution.

“Guilt for a crime, that entirely rests on the district attorney for proving it,” Worthington said. “So not only is the burden of proof on them, the defendant is also presumed innocent in every case. The wording that’s given to a jury is that they are presumed innocent and they have to be found not guilty unless and until the district attorney proves otherwise.”

He believes Monterey County is diverse enough to have a broad variety of potential jurors, that’s something both sides want.