The Mexican actor Pablo Lyle announced that he would not testify this Monday in the trial against him for a case of involuntary manslaughter that occurred in 2019, facts that resulted in the death of Juan Ricardo Hernández, of 63 years of Cuban origin.
Lyle, of 35 years, informed Judge Marisa Tinkler Méndez, in charge of the case in the Miami-Dade Criminal Court, that on her own initiative and under the advice of her lawyers, she will not testify at the hearing of this Monday, according to local media reports.
The Mexican actor, known for his performance in soap operas such as “Adorable curse”, clarified that his decision was not subject to any pressure.
Lyle thus paved the way for the prosecution and defense to begin their final arguments.
Prosecutor Gabriela Alfaro repeated to the jury the words “please don’t hurt me”, supposedly Hernández’s last words before falling and going be fatally shot.
The defense presented parts of a statement by the actor in which he stated that it was the first time he had been involved in a situation like that and that he did it to protect his family.
The actor’s lawyers maintained that Lyle acted in self-defense and requested, again, without success, the dismissal of the case under the self-defense law of the state of Florida, rejected.
The closing arguments will give way to the jury, made up of six members, to begin the deliberation process, whose term to take a The decision was not made public.
Lyle’s decision -who was released on bail and under electronic surveillance until the start of the trial- not to testify comes after the doctor testified last Friday coroner who performed the autopsy on Hernández.
The coroner indicated that when the body of the Cuban was examined, it was found that h He had suffered a hemorrhage in the front and back of his head.
The most awaited testimony was that of Ana Araujo, Lyle’s wife, who on the day of the event was in the vehicle with her two children.
Araujo said that she was very scared and that she felt a strong blow to the vehicle during the incident.
“He was beeping at us very loudly all the way, until we stopped and I began to hear a man yelling and insulting”, indicated in relation to Hernández.
He also pointed out that he had not seen the moment in which the actor hit Hernández when he was on his back, in addition to clarifying that everything happened very quickly.
The trial against Lyle began last September 20 after several delays due to the pandemic.
Lyle punched Hernández after an argument over a traffic issue, which four days later he died in a hospital.
The events date back to 31 March 2019, when Lyle was going on the way to the Miami airport in a vehicle driven by his brother-in-law, Lucas Delfino, when they passed the car driven by Hernández.
At a red light, the Cuban got out to angrily reprimand Hernández. Delfino for a maneuver he had performed.
In the middle of the argument, Lyle got out of the car and hit Hernández, who, according to the images collected by the security cameras of a nearby gas station, collapsed instantly.
If found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, Lyle could spend up to 15 years in prison.