MIAMI – The penalty phase of the trial for a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter nine years ago in Miami began Thursday.
Earlier this month, jurors convicted Miguel Ruiz Lobo, 51, of murder and burglary.
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A sex battery charge against him had previously been dropped by prosecutors.
During the trial, prosecutors relied mostly on DNA evidence and surveillance video to make their case against Ruiz Lobo, who could face the death penalty.
The skin under Martha Guzman’s green-painted fingernails indicated that she had fought back on June 22, 2014, and by scratching her killer she had helped investigators to identify him as a suspect, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors believe it took Ruiz Lobo about 30 minutes to kill Martha. They showed the jury surveillance video of Ruiz Lobo arriving at the victim’s apartment in Miami’s Little Havana shortly before 10:30 a.m., and leaving at about 11 a.m.
Ruiz Lobo’s trial began on April 3 with emotional testimony that included Martha’s mother and sister who found her dead with a knife sticking out of her neck. Prosecutors accused Ruiz Lobo of slashing Martha’s wrists and stabbing her in the neck while attempting to stage a suicide at the scene of the murder.
Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Laura Adams told the jury during her opening statement that Ruiz Lobo was mad at Martha for asking her mother to break up with him.
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Local 10 archives
- Aug. 7, 2014: Miguel Ruiz Lobo indicted in death of 11-year-old girl
- July 22, 2014: Miguel Ruiz Lobo proclaims innocence in Miami girl’s death
- July 22, 2014: Miguel Ruiz Lobo arrested in 11-year-old Miami girl’s death