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Well, despite the DPP's insistence that Vanegas' guilt has been proven, his attorney Norman Rodriguez, is in complete disagreement. He made a 51-minute presentation on Vanegas' behalf, and this evening at the end of the trial, we asked him to give us a summary:

Norman Rodriguez - Attorney for Ashton Vanegas
"I will subject what I say to the authority of the court, which has the final decision in this. But, yes, I believe that Mr. Ashton Vanegas is innocent. There absolutely no evidence to support that he committed any act of murder."

Reporter
"A major piece of the DPP's evidence that she has provided is surveillance footage from William Mason's home surveillance system, which she says, if you study it carefully, frame by frame, you can definitely make out your client and everybody else. You might not be able to see their faces, but if you study the videos long enough, you can. Do you disagree?"

Norman Rodriguez
"Section 64 of the evidence act tells you that you can bring evidence to the court, out of court, or in court, through your witnesses. Witnesses are brought before the court, during the presentation of the crown's case, and the defense's case. And where that is not done, it is not considered the evidence. So, in my opinion, my thought is that I don't need to comment on video evidence where no witness came before the close of the crown's and the defense's case, to identify any of those people in that video."

After Rodriguez, Justice Antoinette Moore heard closing arguments from Bryan Neal, on behalf of Keiron Fernandez.

In Keiron Fernandez's case, the DPP says that he was part of the initial detention of Pastor Lucas' companions on the day of his murder. The DPP says he assisted with loading the captives in the back of the pickup. He also allegedly got into that pickup.

The DPP says he acknowledged in his dock statement that he was at Mason's Outback Ranch, where it is believed that Pastor Lue was killed. Also, the DPP says he went along with Mason and the other accused men to Sanchos Bar in the pickup, which contained Pastor Lue's severed head. He also allegedly tried to prevent the search of Mason's vehicle along with the other men, by forming a barricade.

The DPP also says that bloodstains were found on his pants, and tests confirm that the DNA from those stains matches the DNA profile of Pastor Lue.

So, what does Neal think of the DPP's case? Well, we asked him outside of court this evening:

Bryan Neal - Attorney for Keiron Fernandez
"I was able to focus on the identification evidence in the video, which is very grainy, and did not make out any face of any of the accused men. And I pointed out that with particularly the third accused, and who they are saying in the video is the third accused, who I represent, was not identified by any of the other witnesses that attended in this trial. So, there's no proper identification evidence. I also submitted about the DNA evidence, the way it was collected, and the fact that it wasn't collected from a crime scene, that it cannot count as evidence against my client. I focused on the faulty investigation that went nowhere, as far as I am concerned, and a couple of other legal points that I hope the judge will consider and enter a verdict of not guilty for the third accused man, Keiron Fernandez."

Reporter
"There seemed to have been this reoccurring issue among the defendants as it pertains to circumstantial evidence."

Bryan Neal
"Let me break it down for you, so that even a baby could understand. Think about it like a rope. You have one piece of evidence, identification. You have another piece, DNA. You have another piece, investigation. You must tie all those strands together like a rope, and if the rope is tight, then you've proven your case. We're saying that the rope cannot be woven together, there is no circumstantial evidence, and the case fails."

The final closing arguments in this trial came from attorney Iliana Swift, who represented Terrence Fernandez.

The DPP says that he played a major role in the kidnapping of Lucas and the other men. In the surveillance footage, he was allegedly seen in constant communication with a man resembling Mason, who the DPP asserts is the mastermind.

The DPP says that he was the one who provided a blue bandana to the man she believes is Vanegas. She says he also gave him instructions on what to do with it. !prosecution witness asl puts him at the Outback Ranch. He also went with Mason and others to Sancho's bar in the pickup with Pastor Lue's head. Finally, the DPP says that his pants had blood stains on it which had DNA that matches the profile of Pastor Lucas.

In response, Swift told the judge in Terrence's defense that the DPP has failed to prove the charge of murder against him. According to Swift, these assertions of Terrence's innocence, she says that the DPP is making numerous assumptions unsupported by evidence, relying on an unclear video recording. She also asserts that the DPP has failed to prove that Fernandez was part of any joint enterprise to murder Pastor Lucas. From their perspective, he was an employee who went to work that day, and he did not participate in any crime.

Justice Moore has told the court that she hopes to have a decision sometime in November or December.