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Man gets life term in death of his wife
Prosecutors did not ask for death penalty
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Published: August 20, 2008
A Forsyth Superior Court jury found a Winston-Salem man guilty of first-degree murder yesterday in the shooting death of the mother of his two children.
Jose Valverde, 30, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours after receiving instructions Monday from Judge Catherine Eagles. Jurors spent about 10 minutes in the courtroom yesterday reading a transcript of testimony from Valverde's son before returning to deliberations. They reached a verdict just before 11 a.m.
The life sentence was the only possible punishment for Valverde once he was convicted; prosecutors had not requested the death penalty.
Valverde was accused of shooting Rosenda Prudente-Rodriguez, 25, on the night of Jan. 16, 2006, or early the next morning. She was 4½ months pregnant.
Prosecutor Beirne Harding said that the slaying took the life of a good mother.
Valverde showed no emotion as the verdict was read but shook his head slowly as jurors were polled on the verdict individually at the request of defense attorney David Botchin.
All 12 jurors returned to the courtroom to see Valverde sentenced.
Valverde's son, also named Jose, was the state's lone eyewitness to the shooting when he was 5.
Last week, he testified that his parents argued and then his father shot his mother in the face in their apartment on Utah Drive. His father then drove with him in an SUV, wrecking it off nearby Cole Road. He threw away the gun, the son said, and police never found it.
The younger Jose's account is basic, but it's supported by physical evidence and common sense, Harding told jurors in her closing argument Monday.
"We give that evidence to support the little shoulders on which this case lies," she said.
The wrecked SUV contained Prudente-Rodriguez's blood and unspent bullets matching the caliber of the murder weapon. Other bullets were found inside the apartment.
Tests showed that Valverde, who is right-handed, had gunshot residue on his right hand, indicating that he had fired a gun or had been near a gun that was fired that night. Valverde had said in his testimony that he owned only a BB gun.
In his closing argument, Botchin suggested that Valverde could have picked up the residue from sitting in a police car.
Valverde testified that a man robbed him of his wallet and $500 that night as he returned from drinking with a friend. He said that he found the door to his apartment ajar, and that inside he found Prudente-Rodriguez, shot once in the head.
Valverde said he took his son Jose with him to chase the robber when he had the wreck. He then called a friend to drive him back to the apartment.
Alejandro Miranda, Valverde's friend, testified Monday that Valverde asked him to drive him to Texas.
Instead, Miranda took Valverde to his apartment, where Valverde's 2-year-old son, Justin, was walking toward his mother, crying for her, Miranda testified.
Harding said that Valverde's earlier stories varied, and that until he heard the evidence against him last week, he had never claimed that a robber was involved.
On the day of the killing, he had told officers that he was home when Prudente-Rodriguez went to the door and someone shot her.
A crime-scene photo showed Valverde's wallet with an identification card in it. Valverde explained that had a second wallet in addition to the one that was stolen.
"Do you believe him," Harding asked jurors, referring to the younger Jose, "or do you believe that cock-and-bull story?"
■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.
■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.
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