Fresno jury returns verdict in case of teacher allegedly beaten to death by boyfriend
Brandon Moreno was found guilty Wednesday of second degree murder in the beating death of his girlfriend Yanina Olivarez.
Olivarez, a single mother from Tulare, was brutally attacked on Jan. 19, 2019, inside the studio apartment she shared with Moreno in east-central Fresno. She died about 15 hours after arriving at the hospital.
Police said it appeared the petite, 32-year-old teacher was beaten to death. Her body was badly bruised and bloody. The coroner listed her cause of death as blunt force head trauma.
Although Moreno denied having anything to do with her death, he was arrested and charged with murder. Friends and family said they had no doubt he was responsible.
Several people testified during the four-day murder trial that Moreno, 32, was controlling, jealous and violent.
Prosecutor Elana Smith tried to convince the jury that despite a lack of physical evidence, everything pointed to Moreno as the killer.
But Moreno’s attorney Emily Takao said third-hand information from witnesses was not hard evidence. In the end, the jury found Moreno guilty of second degree murder after about two days of deliberating.
Takao said Moreno said very little after the jury read the verdict. He didn’t testify during the trial.
“He just sat there taking it all in,” Takao said.
His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29 in Judge Jon Conklin’s courtroom. Moreno faces up to 43 years to life in prison.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
