Encalada Double Murder Trial Ends; Judge Reserves Verdict

The double murder trial of Ladyville barber Miguelito Encalada wrapped up today before Justice Candace Nanton in the High Court. The judge has reserved her decision for Friday, May twenty-second, 2026. Encalada faces charges for the April twentieth, 2023, shooting deaths of his wife, Desiree Elizabeth Gonzalez, and his brother, George Vincent Rochester, at his Scissors Tail Street establishment in Ladyville. The Crown closed its case at 1:53 p.m. after calling nearly twenty witnesses. Crown Counsel Joseph Perez confirmed the prosecution will submit written arguments by April twenty-second, with the defense due by May fourth. Justice Nanton earlier ruled that a statement Encalada allegedly made at the scene, “My gun is there”, cannot be used against him. However, she admitted his written interview notes and video-recorded statement into evidence. Encalada chose to give an unsworn dock statement, telling the court armed men attacked him, forced him to the ground, killed his wife and brother, and escaped with seven thousand to eight thousand dollars from the business. He denied committing the murders and said he was innocent. The Crown presented ballistic evidence linking Encalada’s licensed nine-millimeter pistol to bullet fragments recovered at the scene. Police records show the firearm was registered to him months before the killings. Encalada, represented by attorney Hurl Hamilton, called no witnesses in his defense.

 

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