Prosecution rests case in trial of suspect charged in murder of 2 Northwest High School students
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of a man accused of killing two Montgomery County high school students on the eve of their graduation.
Jose Canales-Yanez is the first of four men to go on trial on charges in connection with the shooting deaths of Shadi Najjar and Artem Ziberov last year.
After the prosecution rested, the defense began its case and called its first witness Wednesday afternoon.
New information was revealed about a cell phone incident that took place in the courtroom a week ago in which a woman was seen taking photographs of a key witness in this case who at one time had been in protective custody. The woman was called to the stand, her phone was seized and she was banished from the courtroom.
We have learned that this woman is Kara Yanez, the wife of the man on trial. She was arrested last week after a person sitting near her in the courtroom overheard her threaten the key witness and then use the cell phone to take the woman's picture.
Testimony also revealed Kara Yanez is also the woman who was robbed and run over by Najjar in Dec. 2016 - six months before Canales-Yanez and three others sought retribution for what they thought the 17-year-old had done.
A video shown to the judge also revealed that Canales-Yanez was at the scene when his wife was struck by a car and he gave police a description of the driver of the striking vehicle to police.
Last June, Najjar and Ziberov were shot and killed while sitting in a car in a murder the judge has called "overkill." The two were lured to a quiet street in the belief they were going to sell an extra ticket to their high school graduation.
The judge was also shown a recorded interview with the defendant in this case, an interview that lasted just about 15 minutes and shows the lead detective questioning him. At one point, she lays out what she believes to be a theory in the case. However, Canales-Yanez said he did not know what the detective was talking about and that was the end of the interview.