EUGENE, Ore. — The murder trial has begun for a man accused of stabbing a woman that he met online 22 times and then storing her body under floorboards.
The Register-Guard reports that the trial for 24-year-old Erick Joaquin began on Wednesday and is expected to finish next week.
Joaquin is accused of killing 19-year-old Eugene resident Jessica Frank.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Parosa said the pair had been arguing inside Joaquin’s room in November 2016 when the defendant stabbed her.
Joaquin was arrested a day after Frank’s death. He is accused of burying her under the floorboards of an outbuilding in which he’d been staying.
Defense attorney Brook Reinhard says the case’s forensic evidence is “quite messy.” He asked the jury to pay attention to the evidence and avoid drawing quick conclusions.
