Nov 4, 2009 11:45 am US/Pacific
SF Man To Stand Trial Over Girlfriend's Fatal Fall
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN) ―
A San Francisco man was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for the 2008 alleged domestic violence murder of his girlfriend, who died after falling from a third-story window as she tried to escape from him.
Eloy Muniz allegedly chased 46-year-old Cindy Weaver into the bathroom of a friend's home in the 2700 block of Folsom Street on the night of Oct. 3, 2008.
Weaver locked the door and tried to escape by climbing out the window but fell, according to prosecutors. She died from her injuries on Oct. 20.
On Tuesday, at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing on the matter, Judge Ksenia Tsenin ordered Muniz, 47, to trial on charges of murder, assault, making criminal threats and false imprisonment, according to the district attorney's office.
Muniz was originally arrested for assault on Oct. 16 in connection with the incident, but was rebooked on a murder charge after Weaver's death.
Prosecutors are pursuing a second-degree murder conviction on the theory of implied malice, that Muniz knew his actions were endangering Weaver's life.
Weaver's decision to flee out the window did not legally qualify as "an intervening and superseding" cause of her death; it did not break the chain of events that Muniz had set in motion, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also noted that Muniz had a history of domestic violence against Weaver, including verbal and physical abuse.
According to prosecutors, Muniz, Weaver and the friend had been drinking over dinner at the friend's home and Muniz reportedly became abusive and accused her of infidelity. Weaver had previously tried to end the relationship.
Muniz allegedly threw a glass tumbler at Weaver and then head-butted her, before she locked herself in the bathroom. He then allegedly shouted obscenities from outside and threatened to break the door down.
Neighbors reported seeing Weaver with one leg inside the bathroom window and one leg reaching for the neighbor's roof when she fell.
While en route to the hospital and in severe pain, Weaver told a police officer, "He (Muniz) was being an ass, and I was scared."
Muniz is scheduled to be arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court on the charges on Nov. 17. A trial date has not yet been set, and he remains in custody without bail.
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