By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Jurors in the murder trial of Daniel Lopez on Wednesday heard testimony from the medical examiner regarding the wounds inflicted on the man Lopez is accused of killing.
Lopez’s trial began Tuesday in 83rd Judicial District Court with jury selection. On Wednesday morning, the jury heard opening statements from District Attorney Suzanne West, who is presenting the state’s case, and Del Rio attorney Sostenes Mireles II, who is representing Lopez. Testimony from witnesses for the state began immediately afterward.
Lopez, 51, was indicted for murder in the Oct. 2, 2023, shooting death of Jose “Joey” Burgi, 21. Burgi’s body was discovered early that morning near the intersection of Las Brisas Boulevard and Sundance Kid Trail just north of Del Rio.
Following opening statements, jurors heard testimony from Burgi’s mother, Raquel Burgi, and from his girlfriend, Alondra Olivas. Additional testimony came from Lucas Garcia, who called Border Patrol after seeing two men walking along Las Brisas Boulevard near his home; Daniel Villegas, the Border Patrol agent who responded to the call and discovered Burgi’s body; and Daniel Herrera, an emergency medical service technician who responded to the scene.
The final witness to testify Wednesday was Dr. Corinne Stern, chief medical examiner for the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office in Laredo.
Under direct examination by West, Stern explained that her office performs autopsies for Val Verde County and outlined her education, professional training and experience. Shortly after Stern began her testimony, West offered photographs from Burgi’s autopsy into evidence and walked through each image with Stern, asking her to explain what the jury was seeing.
Stern testified that she identified “four separate gunshot wounds and one re-entry wound” on Burgi’s body. She described each wound in detail as the photographs were displayed in the courtroom.
According to Stern’s testimony and her official autopsy report, the wounds included a shotgun entrance wound on the right side of Burgi’s chest, a shotgun entrance wound on the left arm, an exit wound on the left arm, a re-entry wound on the left side of the chest, and a shotgun wound on the right thigh.
Stern also testified that she recovered a plastic wad cup, a component of a shotgun shell, from Burgi’s chest wound.
West asked Stern whether she could estimate the distance between Burgi and the shotgun when it was fired. Stern testified that, based on the nature of the wounds, the gun had been fired from a “close to medium distance,” estimating a range of approximately three to 10 feet.
Stern testified that the gunshot wound to Burgi’s chest was fatal.
West also asked whether toxicology testing had been performed as part of the autopsy. Stern said it had, and that the results showed Burgi had been consuming cocaine and methamphetamine prior to his death.
When asked by West if she was able to determine a cause of death, Stern replied, “He died from multiple gunshot wounds.”
Under cross-examination by Mireles, Stern testified that one of the wounds on Burgi’s upper back was a graze wound. Mireles questioned Stern about the number of wounds, and she responded that “there was no question there were at least four wounds.”
Mireles also questioned Stern about the toxicology results, and she confirmed that tests conducted on Burgi’s blood were positive for cocaine and methamphetamine. Mireles asked no further questions, and Stern was released after West indicated she was also finished.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
