That night, she and friend Evan Christiansen met with friends, smoked some pot and had a couple of beers, then left, Murphy said. Christiansen testified he and Godsoe picked up more alcohol — two 40-ounce bottles of Mickey’s malt liquor — and headed to Fairview Park. It was just becoming dark when they arrived, Christiansen told jurors.
Garcia, his cousin and another friend were already at Fairview Park for their own party. Garcia, then 17 years old, was celebrating the birth of his first child with his 18-year-old wife. Neither group knew each other.
But Godsoe didn’t hesitate to make friends, witnesses testified. When she and Christiansen walked into the park from her home off Pacific Avenue, she immediately whistled to the three strangers they saw up ahead.
Garcia introduced himself as “Pumpkin Head,” a moniker his friends gave him because he had a large head, and the others also used nicknames, Murphy told jurors.
Deputy Alternate Defender Frank Davis, representing Garcia, didn’t argue any of these points, nor did he plan to, he told jurors during his opening statements. Nor would he dispute that the group all seemed to be getting along, drinking beer, talking about school and common interests, or that Garcia and Godsoe seemed to hit it off.
Both attorneys told jurors that Godsoe and Garcia were seen walking off together. It was the last time she was seen alive.
Prosecutors claim that after they walked away, for unknown reasons, Garcia savagely beat the 125-pound Godsoe to death. Garcia weighed about 195 pounds at the time.
