Aug 25, 2007

Documents unsealed in murder case

Bay City News

Documents that describe the ruthless details of the rape and murder of Sany San on July 22 were unsealed Friday despite efforts on behalf of the defense to keep them sealed from the public.

The document describes a 911 call made from San's cell phone at about 6:24 a.m. reporting the grisly incident. Julio Jovel, 30, reportedly made the call.

Jovel is now in custody for the killing.

As police listened to Jovel say how he witnessed a man stab San, 46, and drag her into bushes, questions began to mount, according to the document.

Officers determined San had been dead longer than the 17 minutes Jovel had claimed. Police also discovered that several calls had been made to a home where Jovel was staying an hour before the 911 call.

After detectives pressed Jovel with inconsistencies, he confessed to the murder, the report said.

He told officers he and an accomplice, Luis Lorenzo, 18, also in custody, had waited for a woman to walk by. When San passed at about 5 a.m., they attacked.

The document also outlines a confession by Lorenzo, who was arrested July 24 at a home on Florida Avenue.

Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender Ken Mandel had asked that the documents remain sealed to protect his client's (Jovel) chance at a fair trial.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jean High Wetenkamp denied the motion, ordering the documents unsealed Friday.

Both Lorenzo and Jovel are scheduled to enter a plea Sept. 4.