Resort workers testify in Big Island murder case

WAIMEA, Hawaii (AP) — Witnesses are testifying about what they saw in the Big Island hotel room where a Washington state woman was killed.

Ernest Valenzuela who works in the resort’s housekeeping department testified Tuesday that he saw a woman being hit in the head with a large piece of granite from the room’s coffee table.

He says blood was oozing from the woman who was lying on the floor in a bathrobe.

Philip Howard Zimmerman is charged with murdering girlfriend Susan Brockert on the night of May 23.

Zimmerman and Brockert, of Bellevue, Wash., were staying together at The Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani Resort.

Zimmerman’s preliminary hearing is ongoing in district court in Waimea.

Security supervisor John Overbeck testified he blocked the room’s doorway to prevent Zimmerman from leaving and harming others.