Leniz Escobar: MS-13's 'Little Devil' laughed and licked victim's blood off her lips, says prosecutor
Leniz Escobar, also known as 'Diablita' or 'little devil,' is accused of luring four young men into the woods inside a Central Islip park in 2017, where they were brutally killed by MS-13 gang members. On Wednesday (April 6), the prosecutor accused Escobar of luring four men to their deaths while presenting their closing arguments. The prosecution started its final statements by alleging that Escobar sent an image of victim Alex Ruiz posing as an MS-13 gang member to one of the gang members over social media. Prosecutors claim that this is what prompted the plotting of his killing, which MS-13 views as a symbol of contempt.
Meanwhile, a former gang member and a pathologist testified on Monday (April 4) against Escobar. David Antonio Gaitan-Rivera, a former MS-13 gang member who reportedly was a buddy of Escobar testified that he was driving with Escobar and claimed she informed him that she and another individual transported five guys to the park, where four of them were killed with sticks and machetes by gang members. The bait used to lure five young males into the Central Islip park was supposedly Escobar and Kayli Gomez. The females allegedly gave the boys marijuana according to Gomez. According to the prosecution, one young guy, Alexander Ruiz, escaped when they were confronted by MS-13 gang members, while Escobar stood by and watched the four others be cruelly killed.
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According to New York Post, Dr Michael Caplan, the chief pathologist for the Suffolk County Office of the Medical Examiner testified and described the victims' injuries in detail, including blunt force and sharp object injuries to all of their skulls. According to the doctor, two of the victims on whom he performed an autopsy had indications of recent marijuana usage. In court, one of the machetes used in the killings, as well as a tree branch used to beat the victims, was displayed. One of the victims, Michael Lopez Banegas, allegedly sought out Escobar for assistance immediately before he was killed, according to evidence offered during the trial. Escobar allegedly laughed and licked his blood off her lips, which spilled over her clothes, according to the prosecutors.
Later, she is accused of attempting to dispose of the clothing before fabricating a fake story to inform the cops. The defense who was representing Escobar began its final arguments by stating that Escobar was not a member of the MS-13 gang. Her status with the gang came from her high-ranking boyfriend. Escobar was scared of the group and wanted her boyfriend's protection, according to the defense lawyers. They further claim that the witnesses in the case were untrustworthy. The prosecution, they claim, failed to establish any of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Escobar has pled not guilty to the accusations brought against her. The jury is now expected to decide Escobar's fate in the next hearing.