Woman Ordered to Stand Trial in Father's Murder

By Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News Service

OAKLAND — A judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to have a Hayward woman stand trial on a murder charge for the stabbing death of her 73-year-old father during a violent struggle at his Fremont home in
April.

At the end of a preliminary hearing for 29-year-old Megan Desiree O'Connell that spanned parts of two days, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Rolefson also ordered her to stand trial on a felony elder abuse charge and a misdemeanor charge that she disobeyed an order to stay away from her father.

O'Connell was arrested on the night of April 4 after officers responded to a disturbance at the home of Navarro Esguerra, her father, in the 37800 block of Argyle Road at about 7:15 p.m. that evening.

They found him lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said. Esguerra was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

Police said the initial indication is that Esguerra died of blunt force trauma to his head but authorities later ruled that he died from stab wounds.

Officers found O'Connell in a bathroom inside the home and took her into custody after a short but violent struggle, Bosques said.

She said O'Connell fought "viciously" by swinging her arms and legs, even after she had been restrained, so eventually officers put her in a wrap and a protective hood to stop her from spitting at them.

Fremont police said their investigation indicates that O'Connell arrived at her father's home in violation of a restraining order and got into a violent argument with her father, prompting her mother to call police.

O'Connell's lawyer, Frank Lang, said at the end of her hearing Wednesday that, "I don't think the evidence shows that this was a first- or second-degree murder. If anything, it may show that there was mutual combat or she acted in self-defense."

Lang said, "At best, there was a sudden flare of argument and the decedent (Esguerra) pushed the defendant (O'Connell) and the defendant pushed back."

The defense attorney said, "There was no premeditation or malice aforethought and at best you have a manslaughter charge."

Lang urged Rolefson to only order O'Connell to stand trial on a manslaughter charge but Rolefson said he believes prosecutors produced enough evidence against her to have her stand trial for murder.

Lang also asked Rolefson not to have O'Connell stand trial on an enhancement allegation that she used a knife to kill her father, arguing that "there was no direct testimony that there was the use of a knife and no indication of how it was used."

But Rolefson said he believes it's clear that "a knife or a similar weapon was used" because Esguerra died of multiple incise stab wounds and there was evidence that there were knives in the kitchen of his home.

O'Connell, who was dressed in a red jail jumpsuit and was shackled at her hearing Wednesday, remains in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail.

Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.