As attorneys continued their analysis of evidence in the Pedro Bravo case, state prosecutors said Tuesday they expect to receive forensic analysis results on two pieces of evidence collected during last year’s Christian Aguilar murder investigation.
Brian Kramer, assistant state attorney for Alachua County State Attorney’s Office, told Judge Denise Ferrero during a case management hearing Tuesday at the Alachua County Courthouse that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will release its analysis of Bravo’s confiscated computer as well as duct tape found on Aguilar’s body later this week.
As part of the discovery, Bravo’s defense lawyer, Michael Ruppert, will have access to the reports.
Ruppert, who is Bravo’s third lawyer since the case began 11 months ago, said he and his team have taken depositions from about half of the roughly 100 witnesses in the case.
He said more depositions are expected to happen within the next several months.
On June 26, Ferrero set Jan. 14 as a deadline for all depositions to be completed.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Kramer again urged the court to set a trial date.
“I would like to have a trial for this case as soon as the court is ready for me,” he said.
Darry Lloyd, spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office, said he believed a trial could happen early next year if all deadlines are met and there are no delays.
“The family wants answers,” he said. “And in cases like this, the only time you get your answers is in a trial.”
Bravo, a 19-year-old former Santa Fe College student, is accused of kidnapping and murdering Aguilar in September.
Aguilar, who was an 18-year-old UF biomedical engineering freshman, was reported missing Sept. 20.
Four days later, Gainesville Police named Bravo as a suspect and arrested him. Nearly a month later, Aguilar’s body was found half-buried in wooded areas 40 miles southwest of Gainesville in Levy County.
Bravo is charged with kidnapping, homicide, lying to police, providing false reports, mishandling human remains, tampering with physical evidence and poisoning food and/or water with the intent to kill or injure a person, according to court records.
Making his eighth trip to Gainesville with his family since Bravo first appeared in front of a judge in October, Carlos Aguilar said he was confident in the state attorney’s office and the case’s latest developments.
“The evidence is there. It’s overwhelming,” he said. “You can’t deny what (Bravo) did.”
Bravo’s next scheduled hearing is Nov. 12.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 8/28/2013 under the headline "Prosecutors, defense to receive forensic results"
Pedro Bravo stands at a case management hearing at the Alachua County Courthouse on Tuesday. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will release more evidence collected during last year’s Christian Aguilar murder investigation.
