More testimony from Day 3:
Amy Lenpher
Next was Amy Lenpher, an employee of Dollar General.
Lenpher confirmed to the court that the store had cameras and they also have electronic cash registers that show the purchase, the card, the time and the date of the purchase.
A video was then shown to the court.
In the video, Fabian can be seen entering the store at 10:09 p.m. He then walks to the counter, purchases some items and leaves around 10:13 p.m.
A receipt of the purchase was then shown to the court, which confirmed that Fabian had purchased drop cloths.
Cpt. Darryl Losoya (continued)
On Thursday, Officer Losoya was first to the stand to continue his testimony in the case.
The court returned to a video interview with Fabian.
Losoya said, Fabian described in more detail the date with Zuzu and what took place afterwards.
Fabian begins by describing what Zuzu was wearing the night she disappeared and re-emphasized what the date consisted of; a dinner, champagne among other things.
He then tells the police she became upset about comments regarding an old girlfriend and he claimed to have walked her out of the apartment between 2 and 3 a.m.
Officers then had Fabian point out where Zuzu parked the night of the date.
From there a second interview with Fabian was shown to the court.
In the second interview, Fabian details what happened after Zuzu left his apartment. In the interview, Fabian said he was frustrated with Zuzu after she deleted a Snapchat and watched a movie before going to bed.
Fabian claims he woke up around 8 a.m. the next morning and texted Zuzu before falling back asleep.
Eventually, Fabian said he went to work but was late and arrived around 11 a.m.
“We were just trying to make it work,” Fabian said in the second interview.
The prosecutors again point out Fabian’s use of past tense.
In the interview, investigators then asked Fabian about problems with an acquaintance, the same acquaintance Miles Verk is accused of fighting with.
Fabian went on to discuss Zuzu’s routine and why he cleaned the apartment after she left.
He claims the argument never became physical and also told investigators during the interview that he hadn’t searched for Zuzu because he was “trying to give her space.”
Police then start to point out discrepancies in Fabian’s interviews.
Fabian recanted part of his previous statement and said he went out for a drive after the argument. When he came back, Verk was still there and left some time after, according to the recorded interview.
“I had nothing to do with her disappearance,” Fabian can be heard saying in the interview.
Barr, the prosecutor, then points out that Fabian told police he would only help if, “there is nothing to incriminate him on.”
In the interview, police ask again if Fabian had anything to do with the disappearance saying, “I think you are leaving some stuff out.”
Fabian was not arrested following the second interview but police did search hisapartment. In the dryer, investigators found a mattress pad, bleach and clothes. The clothes and mattress pad were then presented to the court, all of which had visible bleach stains.
Losoya then told the court there was, “no doubt the clothes belonged to Fabian.”
The defense then interjected saying Losoya was also using past tense with Fabian and asked if he’d ever framed questions to get a conviction. Losoya said he had not framed the questions.
The defense team points to other cleaning supplies found in Fabian’s apartment, which were never collected as evidence in the case. Furthermore, they also noted that the items were only tested once and came back negative.
They also claim police never fingerprinted the bleach in Fabian’s home and notes a pair of latex gloves that were too small for Fabian saying they may have been from a woman who lived in the apartment before Fabian.
In driving home their point from the first day of the trail, the defense reiterates that Fabian’s finger prints have not been found on anything incriminating and nothing existed, which connected him to Zuzu’s death.
The defense then turns to other possible suspects, most notably the acquaintance that appears in various witness testimony.
However, the prosecutors countered saying Fabian had been caught in a lie about his actions during the evening with Zuzu and said the acquaintance had already been cleared by law enforcement.
Also, the prosecutor noted the acquaintance joined the search parties after Zuzu went, missing. Fabian never did.
Barr then says that no finger prints had been found because everything had been cleaned.
Day 3: Estrada arrives in Caldwell County, more testimony expected