Day three of the Timicca Nauta murder trial began with the testimony of the lead detective in the case. Officer Angel Santos testified that on Oct. 19, Brandon Acosta confessed to the crime after the two had a discussion about faith and telling him his story matters.
“He said he was high that night under the influence of methamphetamines. He went over to Quan’s and burglarized it and went next door. I asked him, Timicca’s house? And he said yes, he nodded his head up and down, yes. I asked him what happened? He said he went inside to attempt to take the belongings inside Timicca’s room,” Officer Santos testified.
The detective told jurors that prior to the shack being re-built into Timicca’s home, it was a tool shed which was burglarized on multiple occasions.
Officer Santos told jurors that Acosta was crying as he confessed, stating that Acosta told him that the room was dark and he was startled by a person he could not see.
While Santos did not testify towards the events that occurred while Acosta was inside Timicca’s home, he says that Acosta confessed that what happened inside was not his intent and it was a mistake. According to Santos, Acosta said he went inside Timicca Nauta’s home for the purpose of burglarizing it but was startled when he saw Nauta and what happened next wasn’t his intent and it was a mistake.
Following the confession, Santos said that Acosta stated that his spirit was set free and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Santos was present at the scene of the crime the day Timicca’s lifeless body was discovered. He described for jurors the bloody crime scene, how Timicca’s body was found resting, testifying that her undergarment appeared to have been placed on her and the injuries he witnessed.
“She had a laceration across her face here, to the back of her neck, then across her back. Her left index finger it was attached by a shred of skin. Are you familiar with defensive wounds? That is what her left index finger appeared to be. She observed the strike coming and picked up her hand to block it,” Santos testified.
At one point during the detective’s testimony, he looked directly at Acosta as he stated that a mistake doesn’t define us, what we do to fix it is what makes us and that if we do nothing, then the mistake becomes us.
The trial will continue tomorrow.
##
