TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — On Thursday, the courtroom was filled with tension as closing arguments wrapped up in the trial of Jean Pierre Ojeda Salazar, charged with the murder of a mother and her daughter in Tampa.
The jury is now tasked with reaching a verdict.
Prosecutor Lindsey Mica Hodges painted a harrowing picture, stating, “A young girl lost her life trying desperately to protect her mother. These two women simply wanted peace, but the defendant refused to let them go. His final text message foreshadowed his actions: ‘I don’t want to lose you.’”
The tragic deaths of Paula Alejandra Cabrejo and her daughter Mariana were, according to the prosecution, the result of a relationship ending badly.
“Her decision to end the relationship stemmed from his mistreatment of her daughter,” Hodges explained.
If the jury finds Jean Pierre Salazar guilty of planning to kill Paula Alejandra Cabrejo and Mariana Cabrejo, he could get the death penalty.
If not, he could be convicted for the lesser charge of manslaughter.
“He stabs in a location that is not just an intentional act. This is an intent to kill. a single stab wound to her chest that Doctor Webb told you is a fatal injury. He stabs her in a calculated and precise way to dispose of someone who is in his way,” Hodges, the prosecutor said.
“What he did was horrible, but it wasn’t murder, and they haven’t proven that it was. I don’t have to have proven anything,” Donna Perry, with the defense, said.
On Thursday, the medical examiner who did the original reports testified, showing evidence of Paula Alejandra being stabbed 17 times and her daughter, Mariana, 4 times.
Salazar conceded the crime did happen, but the defense argues the killings were the product of an impulsive reaction, rather than a conscious intent to murder the mother and daughter.
“Jean Pierre made the worst mistake of his life that day. He lost someone he loved. He lost her daughter. He lost his freedom. He’s lost everything, and he should be punished, absolutely… but he didn’t plan this. He didn’t have any conscious intent to harm anyone,” Perry said.