DES MOINES, Iowa — A Polk County jury will return Tuesday for deliberations after not returning a Monday verdict in the triple murder trial of Marvin Esquivel Lopez.
Esquivel Lopez is charged with three counts of first-degree murder for killing Rossibeth Flores Rodriguez and her two children—5-year-old Ever and 11-year-old Daniela—in July 2019.
“It didn’t seem real what I saw, I didn’t want to believe it,” Esquivel Lopez’s wife, Mariah Esquivel Lopez, testified last week.
Testifying in his own defense, Marvin said Rossibeth came from the basement of their Des Moines home with a gun in her hand saying she killed her two children, pointing the gun at him and saying she was going to kill him too.
"And my hand was raised," he said. "I almost lost the gun and I gripped the gun and two shots were fired aiming towards her head and she fell on the ground."
More from this trial
- DAY 1 RECAP: Wife of Des Moines triple murder suspect testifies she witnessed the killings
- DAY 2 RECAP: Polk County Medical Examiner, DMPD detective testify
- DAY 3 RECAP: Marvin Esquivel Lopez takes the stand in his own defense
- DAY 4 RECAP: Jury deliberations continue in Marvin Esquivel Lopez murder trial
During deliberations Monday, the jury requested a transcript of his testimony, citing translation issues. The motion was denied.
"If they ask for a certain portion of evidence, usually, the judge will respond with a quick response back to the jury saying they heard the evidence, it's been introduced in court, you get to hear it once and that's it," said Bob Rigg, a law professor at Drake University.
The jury will reconvene Tuesday morning.