Two Men Pleaded Not Guilty To Murder Of UCLA Student In Westwood
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Two 22-year-old men pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the murder of a UCLA student found dead in her burned Westwood apartment.
Alberto Hinojosa Medina, a student at Fresno State University, and Eric Marquez, a fifth-year biology student at UCLA, both entered their pleas at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon in connection with the death of Andrea Del Vesco.
Medina is accused of burglarizing an apartment in the 10900 block of Roebling Street on Sept. 21 and then entering a second apartment, where he allegedly stabbed DelVesco to death and set her apartment on fire.
A security camera caught Medina and Marquez returning to Marquez's apartment minutes after the fire. "In my experience, the surveillance footage is not clear. It's grainy. It has lack of resolution," said Dmitry Gorin, Medina's attorney.
Prosecutors said the video shows Medina wearing a snuggy that belonged to the victim. According to detectives, that snuggy was found at one of two properties in Fresno rented to Medina.
"The D.A. needs to prove that in court. They need to establish a chain of custody. They need to establish who actually brought that piece of evidence to the house," said Gorin.
Prosecutors said witnesses spotted Medina entering and leaving the victim's apartment. They alleged Medina stabbed the victim, set her apartment on fire while Marquez aided and abetted.
"There is nothing that prosecutors said in any way that indicated that they believe Mr. Marquez went into the apartment," said Steve Cron, Marquez's attorney.
Medina is charged with one count of arson of a dwelling and two counts of first-degree burglary. The murder charge against the Fresno man includes a special-circumstance allegation of murder during a burglary plus a special allegation that he personally used a knife, according to District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office.
Marquez is charged with one count of murder and two counts of first-degree burglary, prosecutors said.
According to authorities, DelVesco was entering her senior year at UCLA. She was studying psychology and Spanish, and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
The cause of her death has not been released.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told KNX 1070's Ed Mertz detectives are still sorting through any potential relationships between the three.
"I am not aware of any relationship that has yet been determined," said Beck. "That does not mean that was not one, but I am not aware of it."
At the time of her death, Del Vesco was facing drug-related charges. On July 8, she pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing Ecstasy, LSD, methamphetamine and Psilocybin, officers said.
According to the Superior Court's website, she was scheduled to appear in court next week.
At their arraignment, Medina was ordered to remain jailed without bail. Marquez's bail was set at $1.1 million. They are due back in court Oct. 22.
