SAN ANTONIO – Deputy Bexar County Medical Examiner Kimberly Molina delivered graphic, clinical and explicit testimony Friday in the murder trial of Daniel Lopez.
Lopez, 29, is accused of killing Jose Luis Menchaca, 35, in September 2014.
According to trial testimony, Menchaca was lured to a home in the 400 block of Hillwood, where he was beaten with baseball bats and suffocated by Lopez and co-defendant Gabriel Moreno.
Moreno is charged in Menchaca's murder and is jailed awaiting trial.
Menchaca's body was dismembered and partially burned on a backyard barbecue grill, according to testimony.
As the jury viewed pictures taken during the autopsy, Molina described the photos.
"There was evidence consistent with the body having been dismembered along the upper arm and left thigh and the hip and shoulder area, and there was charred evidence indicating that the extremities had been partially burned," Molina said. "The cause of death was homicidal violence."
Closing arguments in Lopez's trial are set for Tuesday in Judge Ron Rangel's 379th District Court.
If Lopez is convicted on a murder charge, he could face a maximum punishment of life in prison.