Wis. Double Murder Trial Day 2: A Digital Trail Of Evidence
HUDSON, Wis. (WCCO) -- On day two in the murder trial for Cristian Nunez, prosecutors pieced together how he made his escape to Texas.
The 38-year old is accused of killing girlfriend Courtney Bradford and her 10-year-old daughter, then trying to destroy evidence by setting Bradford's house on fire.
In court Tuesday, jurors heard from a number of key investigators who explained how Nunez left a digital record as he tried to leave town, including GPS.
Prosecutors described the trail of guilt Cristian Nunez took immediately after the brutal killings, driving Courtney Bradford's car to the Des Moines airport, where he booked an afternoon flight to El Paso, Texas.
"He had used a Wisconsin ID and debit card, both of them belonging to Courtney Bradford," Wisconsin criminal investigator Joe Welsch said on the stand.
Nunez was being tracked long before his flight to El Paso. Investigators were following his electronic transactions, internet use and cell phone calls within hours of the crime. A hotel confirmed he'd be checking in at 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 3.
Two Des Moines officers testified about finding Bradford's car at the airport. It appeared someone disabled wiring to the car's On-Star system, a GPS locator.
"It appeared that someone had tampered with it," Des Moines police officer Kyle Thies said.
If Nunez was trying to hide the car's location, it didn't work. He was in police custody 10 hours later.
Prosecutors also revealed that Bradford and her daughter were likely killed between 9 p.m. Sept. 1 and 2 a.m. the next morning. Jurors were told Nunez then made the 3-hour drive to Iowa for the flight to Texas. Police arrested him after he'd checked in to that El Paso hotel.
Testimony resumes Wednesday Morning.
