News
Cold-case murder results in guilty plea
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ARN file photo Alejandro Gutierrez has pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder in a 10-year-old case. |
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Almost 10 years to the day after 85-year-old Bessie Graham was brutally murdered, Alejandro Gutierrez will be sentenced for the crime.
Gutierrez, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in January 2002 after DNA evidence pointed to the Willcox man's involvement in the July 5, 1996 slaying at Graham's home on Arizona Avenue.
Following several years of the appellate process, Gutierrez accepted a plea agreement on May 22 convicting him of second-degree murder in the case.
After Gutierrez was charged with first-degree murder, the judge suppressed a portion of testimony by a witness who had been hypnotized in order to help her recollections, said Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer.
"We went through the appeal process, but the Court of Appeals affirmed the judge, so we had to look at the case without that testimony. We were still planning on going to trial; the DNA evidence was pretty strong," Rheinheimer said.
Willcox Police Chief Jake Weaver said, "We were all ready to go to trial. I was very anxious to get this over with. We're coming up to the 10-year anniversary, and the family needs to be able to have closure. This is really a big deal."
Weaver said Gutierrez had never been offered a plea agreement prior to this, and Graham's family agreed to the second-degree conviction.
Rheinheimer said, "We discussed the plea with the family at length and they were ready to do this."
Gutierrez is currently serving another sentence in the Department of Corrections, for which he has five years left.
Deputy County Attorney Marc Offenhartz said Gutierrez will be sentenced Monday, July 10 at 8:30 a.m., in Cochise County Superior Court Division 2 with Judge Stephen Desens presiding.
Rheinheimer said Gutierrez could be sentenced to prison for a minimum of 16 years to a maximum of 22 years for a second-degree murder conviction.
"It is conceivable that the judge could run a sentence concurrently with the sentence he is serving now. Obviously, we will argue strongly against that. We hope he'll get the full 22 years and serve it consecutively (one follows the other) with this sentence," he said.
Graham died from strangulation and suffocation, and had multiple broken bones and facial contusions, said Dr. Guery Flores, Cochise County medical examiner.
Weaver said a "cold hit with DNA evidence" in January 2002 linked Gutierrez to the case.
In 1999, then Willcox Police Chief Louie Garcia began working on closing "cold case" investigations, and he praised his staff when Gutierrez was linked to the crime following their work with the evidence in the case.
"A blood stain on Mrs. Graham's bedding was identified as the defendant's, and a small sample of tissue material under her fingernail was a partial match with the defendant," Rheinhermer said.
He added, "This is a case that wouldn't have been solved if it wasn't for some nerdy scientist running DNA samples who suddenly get s a cold hit. This is the kind of case you live for. It doesn't get any better than this."
Gutierrez, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in January 2002 after DNA evidence pointed to the Willcox man's involvement in the July 5, 1996 slaying at Graham's home on Arizona Avenue.
Following several years of the appellate process, Gutierrez accepted a plea agreement on May 22 convicting him of second-degree murder in the case.
After Gutierrez was charged with first-degree murder, the judge suppressed a portion of testimony by a witness who had been hypnotized in order to help her recollections, said Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer.
"We went through the appeal process, but the Court of Appeals affirmed the judge, so we had to look at the case without that testimony. We were still planning on going to trial; the DNA evidence was pretty strong," Rheinheimer said.
Willcox Police Chief Jake Weaver said, "We were all ready to go to trial. I was very anxious to get this over with. We're coming up to the 10-year anniversary, and the family needs to be able to have closure. This is really a big deal."
Weaver said Gutierrez had never been offered a plea agreement prior to this, and Graham's family agreed to the second-degree conviction.
Rheinheimer said, "We discussed the plea with the family at length and they were ready to do this."
Gutierrez is currently serving another sentence in the Department of Corrections, for which he has five years left.
Deputy County Attorney Marc Offenhartz said Gutierrez will be sentenced Monday, July 10 at 8:30 a.m., in Cochise County Superior Court Division 2 with Judge Stephen Desens presiding.
Rheinheimer said Gutierrez could be sentenced to prison for a minimum of 16 years to a maximum of 22 years for a second-degree murder conviction.
"It is conceivable that the judge could run a sentence concurrently with the sentence he is serving now. Obviously, we will argue strongly against that. We hope he'll get the full 22 years and serve it consecutively (one follows the other) with this sentence," he said.
Graham died from strangulation and suffocation, and had multiple broken bones and facial contusions, said Dr. Guery Flores, Cochise County medical examiner.
Weaver said a "cold hit with DNA evidence" in January 2002 linked Gutierrez to the case.
In 1999, then Willcox Police Chief Louie Garcia began working on closing "cold case" investigations, and he praised his staff when Gutierrez was linked to the crime following their work with the evidence in the case.
"A blood stain on Mrs. Graham's bedding was identified as the defendant's, and a small sample of tissue material under her fingernail was a partial match with the defendant," Rheinhermer said.
He added, "This is a case that wouldn't have been solved if it wasn't for some nerdy scientist running DNA samples who suddenly get s a cold hit. This is the kind of case you live for. It doesn't get any better than this."
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