Jury Deliberations Continue in Longview Murder Trial

LONGVIEW — A Longview jury is continuing deliberations in the murder trial of a Smith County man. Both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases Thursday in the trial of Alejandro Garcia, 23, of Winona. The jury deliberated around 4 hours before retiring for the night. Garcia is charged with the murder of Andres Chavez, 19. The Longview man’s body was found December 23rd, 2013, lying outside a car in the 1100 block of Sabine Street.

The autopsy report indicated he died from blunt trauma to the head and sharp force injuries to the neck. Investigators said Chavez may have been lured to his death by a catfish. A catfish is a person who creates a false online identity to pursue an online romance. Garcia had allegedly set up a fake Facebook account. Authorities say he posed as a woman named Monica Ayalin and had several conversations with the victim. According to Facebook posts, Ayalin and Chavez were in a relationship and he believed he was meeting “her” for a date. If convicted of the death, Garcia could get up to life in prison.