Serrano’s family tells of ‘good boy’ during tearful testimony

Defense presents case against the death penalty for the convicted killer

Pamplin Media Group, Mar 5, 2010 (2 Reader comments)

The family of convicted killer Ricardo Serrano testified for the defense Friday morning that he was a good person who had few problems as he grew up in Mexico and Tualatin.

Serrano’s two sisters, a cousin and his mother told jurors in Washington County Circuit Court about his teenage years. His 14-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter also testified that they loved their father and had communicated with him a couple of times through letters while he was in Washington County Jail.

His former supervisor at Tualatin’s Lumber Products also testified that Serrano was a leader at work who avoided trouble and was always upbeat, even when work was difficult.

At the end of the morning’s session, Serrano’s mother, Alejandra Pineza, who traveled to Hillsboro from Mexico tearfully told jurors through an interpreter that her son was “a good boy, always.”

“I love him very much, very much,” Pineza told the jury, sobbing as she spoke about her son’s conviction for three murders. “It hurts me a lot.”

During much of the testimony, Serrano remained stoic and calm, showing emotion only as his younger sister spoke about their family. He wiped away tears during her testimony.

The family’s testimony came during the penalty phase of Serrano’s trial as jurors face a decision on whether the 34-year-old Beaverton man should get the death penalty for the Nov. 2, 2006, close-range shootings of a Bethany mother and her two young sons.

On Feb. 26, Jurors convicted Serrano on 10 counts of aggravated murder in the death of Melody Dang and her sons, Steven and Jimmy Dang. Their bodies were found early in the morning Nov. 3, 2006, by Melody Dang’s domestic partner, Mike Nguyen, when he returned from his night shift at Nike Inc.

The eight-woman, four-man jury must unanimously decide that Serrano intended to kill the Dangs that night and that he could still be a threat to his family or others if he was ever released from prison. If the jury does not agree to impose the death penalty, Serrano could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During testimony Tuesday, Serrano’s estranged wife Melinda Serrano told jurors that the last few years of their marriage were often violent. She also said she didn’t tell police about many times Ricardo assaulted her because she feared for her family’s safety.

Defense attorneys will continue their case Tuesday morning with testimony from prison officials and a psychologist who works with prisoners.

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit