Authorities testify in Eldora murder trial
By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: May 16, 2008
NEVADA – Authorities who responded to a house fire in October 2005 in Eldora were quick to learn there was something far more sinister going on, according to testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Jess Espinoza Cuevas Thursday.
Cuevas is accused of murdering his ex-wife, Brenda Cuevas, at her home Oct. 15 of that year.
Among the first to arrive at the scene was Edward Lepley, an Eldora police officer. Upon his arrival at the scene, he noticed the smell of smoke and saw it was coming from a nearby home.
It was after the fire was extinguished that things began to get suspicious. Lepley reported seeing a body through a bedroom basement window.
During the blaze, firefighters had also noticed a body was in the bedroom.
On a walk-through after the fire, Eldora Fire Chief Bruce Harvey walked down to basement and immediately began to notice a peculiar odor.
“At the very first, I didn’t notice anything but as more smoke and toxic fumes drifted out of the house, you could smell more of a flammable liquid, such as gasoline,” Harvey said.
An associate state medical examiner, Dr. Jerri McLemore, said it was the first thing she noticed when the body bag was opened during autopsy.
“There was a strong smell of something that was very reminiscent of gasoline,” she said.
Further bolstering the argument that the fire was intentionally set, the fire chief testified he noticed a flame trail leading from the floor to the bed. The trail, he said, is consistent with someone pouring a flammable on the bed, then making a trail away from bed and lighting it.
While Brenda Cuevas’ body did sustain significant burning, McLemore indicated that may not be what killed her.
She uncovered evidence during autopsy that showed the victim had been subjected to blunt force trauma to the upper body.
“Those were, obviously, pretty powerful blows to the head,” she said.
McLemore also reported Brenda Cuevas had suffered two skull fractures that would not have been caused by the fire.
At the very least, McLemore said she could have been knocked unconscious, or possibly even killed, by the time the fire began.
Testimony continues Friday in the trial, which was moved to Story County.
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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com
