Testimonies in the Ilias Lasley double murder case during the past two days helped place the pieces of the puzzle of what happened to Mario Murillo and Frances Gasca.

Lasley, 30, of Ankeny, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder of Murillo, 28, and Gasca, 33, both of Marshalltown. The charges stem from an April 19, 2024 shooting at a residence north of Marshalltown on 182nd Street. The arrest report states that Lasley became upset the victims were speaking to one another in Spanish. He allegedly followed them outside and began shooting. Gasca and Murillo reportedly each have seven bullet wounds.

The first to testify in the trial on Wednesday was Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Sgt. Joel McMillen, whose body cam footage of the scene was shown to the court. He was the first responder and found the bodies – Murillo was in the back of his Sonoma truck, and Gasca was in a breezeway between the house and a standalone garage.

“I observed blood around [Murillo’s] face and observed him laying in the back on his left side facing the cab of the truck,” he said. “Based on what I observed, I believed him to be deceased.”

Upon checking Murillo for signs of life, McMillen initially thought he felt a weak pulse coming from the carotid artery. Not wanting to bring emergency medical personnel to a potentially dangerous scene, McMillen brought his vehicle closer to the area to transport Murillo. However, he could not find the pulse again, but McMillen could hear air escaping his lungs and observed a single gunshot wound to Murillo’s face.

When McMillen found Gasca, her hands were pulled over her head. After checking to see whether or not she was alive, he saw at least one gunshot wound in her chest.

Photographs of the crime scene, taken by Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation Criminalist Tara Scott, who testified Thursday, were shown to the jury and people attending the estimated six-day trial inside the Marshall County Courthouse. A few of those photos showing critical wounds in the bodies – both of which had shirts pulled up exposing torsos and missing one shoe – of the deceased caused some people to leave the courtroom.

She gave accounts of the different photos she took. When asked by Assistant Attorney General Ryan Baldridge about a photo outside of the walkway where Gasca was found, Scott said she took the picture because of marks in the ground which indicated either tire tracks or drag marks.

Many of the photos Scott took focused on the area around Murillo’s truck which was in the driveway of the residence.

“You can see some apparent blood . . . at least one cartridge case and a hat and a shoe,” she said.

Scott testified that she took photos of 14 separate cartridge cases.

The first non-emergency personnel to testify on Wednesday was Juan Saldana, a friend of Murillo’s who was on the phone with him when the shooting occurred.

“During the phone call . . . I heard two voices saying ‘What? What?’ and I heard Frances screaming and then gunshots,” he said.

Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney asked Saldana how long he was on the phone with Murillo. Saldana estimated that he actually spoke with Murillo for three minutes and then stayed on the line for another five to see if everyone was okay. After not hearing anyone on the other end, he hung up the phone and tried calling back, but no one answered.

Saldana said he went to the residence of Murillo’s brother, Diego Murillo, and told him what he heard during the phone call. Saldana drove to the 182nd Street residence and saw Murillo’s truck was parked, but did not get out of his vehicle. He drove back to Diego Murillo’s to tell him of the presence of the Sonoma and both went to the residence again in separate vehicles.

Saldana said they parked either on the street or immediately in the driveway and Diego Murillo walked toward his brother’s truck.

Diego Murillo testified after Saldana and said he saw his brother’s hat laying in the driveway close to his truck, which he picked up and was the only item he touched.

Gaffney asked Diego Murillo if he saw anything else.

“I saw a pool of blood and his glasses laying next to the driver’s side door,” he said.

Diego Murillo called their mother to see if Murillo was with her and drove his vehicle back to Marshalltown. He then got a ride back to 182nd Street with Saldana. Gaffney asked why Diego Murillo would drive his vehicle back and at the time, he said he did not have a license. When Diego Murillo, his mother and Saldana returned to the property, he called law 911 and waited for their arrival.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.