Friends Testify In Palo Alto Lounge Owner's Murder Trial
SAN JOSE (BCN) -- Close friends of a man accused of strangling his girlfriend and setting her body ablaze in Palo Alto took the stand in court Wednesday, one claiming the pair never argued, while the other said their arguments were not out of the ordinary.
Testimony continued on the third day of a trial for Bulos "Paul" Zumot, the 37-year-old owner of Da Hookah Spot in Palo Alto, who is charged with murder and arson in connection with the death of 29-year-old real estate agent Jennifer Schipsi on Oct. 15, 2009.
Zumot faces a maximum sentence of 33 years to life if convicted of the crime.
Prosecutors allege that Zumot killed Schipsi and then set their Addison Avenue home on fire with her body inside. The pair had a history of domestic abuse and reportedly got into a fight the night before Schipsi's death.
Victor Chalaan, a car mechanic who identified himself as a good friend of both Zumot and Schipsi, testified that he had spent the evening of Oct. 14 with the couple.
He served as their designated driver that night and had attended a birthday dinner for Zumot at DishDash in Sunnyvale, along with about 15 others.
Chalaan said that after dinner, he drove the couple back to Palo Alto, and on the way, Zumot asked Schipsi about the bill. He asked if she was lying to him, which prompted her to cry, Chalaan said.
When they arrived at the hookah lounge, she refused to go inside, and after sitting on the bumper of Zumot's car for a little while, she left and walked home alone with a broken heel, Chalaan said.
He said he stayed in the area with Zumot, and then followed him home, for the sake of being a good friend, despite being jet-lagged and tired. He said he was not concerned about Zumot being intoxicated or about his argument with Schipsi.
He said the next day, he received a text message from Zumot saying that Schipsi "is cool now." He went on to say she had "the cleanest heart," and that he loved her.
Geragos displayed photos of Schipi and Zumot laughing and looking happy next to each other at the restaurant in front of a birthday cake, and asked Chalaan if Zumot had yelled at her or had done anything to harm her.
"I never saw them argue," Chalaan answered. "He treated her well."
Prior to Chalaan's testimony, however, another close friend of Zumot painted a different picture in his testimony.
Joseph Martinez, a Monterey County sheriff's deputy, said he was a close friend and business partner of Zumot's.
Martinez said that when he met Zumot in May 2008, the couple had broken up and their interactions had lessened over time. They started dating again in early October, but still had their arguments, Martinez said.
The day after his birthday, Zumot called Martinez and told him about the birthday dinner, and also mentioned that he and Schipsi had gotten into an argument over the bill, he said.
"Them having an argument and her walking home wasn't out of the ordinary for me," Martinez said.
Later that day, Zumot called Martinez and sounded "really scared and really panicked" as he told him about the fire at his home, Martinez said.
He twice recounted to Martinez what he had done that day, but only mentioned during the second telling that he had seen Schipsi sleeping when he stopped home before going to the hookah lounge, Martinez said.
The final testimony of the day was given by Jonathan Zdziarski, a New Hampshire-based iPhone forensics expert who copied data from Zumot's and Schipsi's cell phones.
The trial will continue Friday morning.
(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
