FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The murder trial for two men accused of killing a Coral Springs firefighter continued on Tuesday.
Christopher Randazzo was 39 years old when he was shot and killed in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 2019.
Charged in his killing are Torrey Holston, 26, and Jose Romero, 27.
The defendants sat next to their lawyers as witnesses took the stand, including the ex-girlfriend of Marco Rico, who previously pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and conspiracy charges.
That woman, Cheyenne Papach, testified that on the night of the murder, she and the three men went to the Aruba Beach Cafe in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
She testified that while she was having sex with Rico, Holston and Romero robbed Randazzo.
“I know Jose and Torrey were walking the streets while Marco and I were on the beach,” she said.
Papach said Holston had a gun that night, and when the four got back into the car, she says Holston and Romero robbed someone of his shoes and his iPhone.
But the phone was locked, and she claims the men wanted to turn around and head back to Randazzo for the password.
When they arrived, she said Randazzo was lying on the ground.
Papach says she watched the two yelling at Randazzo, who was not fully coherent, and that it was Holston who fired the gun.
She went on to testify that Holston seemed pleased over the murder, even boasting about it.
“(He said) ’I can’t believe I caught a body’ and he was smiling about it,” she testified.
Defense attorneys questioned Papach about her drug use, and recollection of the night. She was asked why she didn’t go to police that night and pressed about some of her testimony.
Prosecutors said the suspects stole $55, sneakers and an iPhone from Randazzo.
Holston and Romero are charged with first degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy.
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