One jury heard opening statements Monday in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court murder trial of two men charged with the brutal attack on an Air Force veteran in her northwest Santa Maria home, leading to her death nearly three years ago.
Jose Villagomez, 23, is charged in connection with the attack on Marilyn Pharis in her home on the 900 block of North Dejoy Avenue July 24, 2015.
Pharis, 64, who worked as a civilian satellite tracker at Vandenberg Air Force Base, died eight days later at Marian Regional Medical Center due to a blood clot allegedly linked to the attack.
Villagomez allegedly served as a lookout while his co-defendant, Victor Ramirez Martinez, 32, attacked Pharis with a hammer after the men broke into her house.
They have been charged with murder along with special allegation the crime was committed during a robbery, burglary and sexual assault.
Pharis awoke that morning to a man, allegedly Martinez, on top of her, she told a 9-1-1 dispatcher.
“He beat her over and over again,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen said. “He strangled her to the point where she lost consciousness three separate times.”
Jurors and alternates heard the victim’s voice — via a recording of a 9-1-1 call she made to report the attack.
“And you said the person tried to rape you?” the dispatcher asked.
“I guess so,” responded Pharis, who sounded groggy.
Despite her injuries, Pharis told a physician “with amazing clarity” what happened to her, Bramsen said.
“She remembered that she was strangled not once, or twice, but three separate times, causing loss of consciousness each time,” Bramsen said.
When nurses began to clean her bloody face, Pharis stopped them, saying “I bit him and I have his hair or tissue in my mouth.”
Pharis seemed to be healing, but died eight days after the attack due to a blood clot blamed on the bed rest required because of the injuries she had received, Bramsen said.
While much more DNA connects Martinez to the case, police recovered a Fanta soda bottle that had a fingerprint and DNA belonging to Villagomez in the backyard, Bramsen said.
Told by a police detective that the woman had died, Villagomez shrugged his shoulders.
“And he says, ‘Yeah, and what can I do about it,” Bramsen said.
Later shown a picture of Pharis, Bramsen said Villagomez responded, “I don’t feel bad because I didn’t hurt her.”
Defense attorney Michael Scott said Villagomez was born in Ukiah, lived in Mexico for several years, and returned to the United States to live with an uncle in Santa Maria.
Villagomez had attended Pioneer Valley High School but did not graduate.
Scott admitted his client entered the home, but Villagomez only went to the window at the request of Martinez and never reported what he saw.
“The evidence will show Mr. Villagomez ran way. The evidence will show Mr. Villagomez took nothing belonging to Ms. Pharis,” Scott said.
“The evidence will show that Mr. Villagomez never touched Ms. Pharis. The evidence will show that Mr. Villagomez never told Mr. Martinez to touch Ms. Pharis.”
In her 9-1-1 call, Pharis only referred to one man attacking her, Scott added.
“The evidence will show that one man was not Mr. Villagomez,” Scott said, adding that his client’s DNA was not found in the bedroom.
When police arrested Villagomez, he didn’t attempt to hide, and willingly talked to detectives three times, giving details about the circumstances of the attack, Scott added.
Villagomez is not very intelligent and is easily confused due to a neurological issue, Scott said.
“The evidence will show that he is truly slow. The evidence will show that he suffers from a brain defect,” Scott said.
Scott added that he intends to call a neuropsychologist, Dr. Juan Gutierrez of Santa Barbara, to testify as a defense expert about Villagomez’s condition to help explain his behavior the day of the attack.
A different panel of jurors will hear opening statements Tuesday afternoon in the trial of Martinez, who is represented by Lori Pedego.
Testimony from witnesses will start Wednesday morning in Judge John McGregor’s courtroom, where both juries are expected to gather.
This case drew national attention because Martinez is an undocumented immigrant with prior arrests. However, a defendant’s immigration status typically is not raised in a criminal trial.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.