SPOKANE, Wash – The retrial of former Pasco Police Officer Richard Aguirre accused of killing a woman in Spokane in 1986 started Wednesday morning.
This is Aguirre’s second trial on the murder charge, with the first ending in a mistrial when jurors couldn’t come to a unanimous agreement.
This difference between the first trial and the current one Aguirre faced is that there are no jurors in a “bench trial.” Prosecutors will have to convince only one person of Aguirre’s guilt: the Judge.
Prosecutors began their opening statements by setting up their plan of attack, four elements they say prove Aguirre is the killer.
First, they plan to dive into the original 1986 murder investigation into ruby doss’s death. Second, they’ll detail how she was killed – she was beaten, stabbed, and strangled. They say this is important because they will revisit DNA collected from the crime scene after it was preserved for 37 years. Finally, they’ll hear testimony from people in Aguirre’s life who prosecutors say will tell them that Aguirre admitted having sex with Doss.
Ruby Doss worked as a prostitute in Spokane in the mid-eighties, and Aguirre’s attorney says the evidence in this case does not point to her client, it points to Doss’s pimp. She says boot prints at the scene that detectives believe are the murderer’s are smaller than Aguirre’s bare feet.
The trial is expected to last until mid-December. Aguirre is charged with first-degree murder. If convicted he faces life in prison.
