Murder trial of ex-police officer begins

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A prosecutor brought in from Cape Girardeau County asked jurors Tuesday to convict a former policeman of murder in the death of a gay college student with whom he had a sexual relationship.

But the defense attorney for Steven Rios argued that while there is evidence the officer and 23-year-old Jesse Valencia had a relationship, there is none that Rios killed the young man.

Prosecutors say Valencia's throat was slashed, but the knife has not been found. Rios, a married father, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the June 5 death.

Prosecutors say Rios killed Valencia after the student threatened to tell the Columbia police chief about the relationship.

Rios had arrested the student in April 2004 for interfering with him and another officer as they answered a police call about a loud party. That was apparently the first time the men met.

Valencia attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and was last seen at a party early June 5 in his neighborhood east of campus. A neighbor in the building reported hearing Valencia arguing with someone early that morning. The student's body was found later that day in a nearby yard.

Swingle, the prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County, said he planned to bring in about 60 witnesses, including friends of Valencia, to testify about the men's relationship. He also planned to show jurors evidence that indicated Rios' DNA was under a fingernail and some of his hair was on the victim's body.

He said Rios "used his badge for sex." He painted Valencia as a college student who liked to party with his friends, was not shy about his homosexuality and had dreams of going on to law school.

Public defender Valerie Leftwich said Rios acknowledges the relationship and said the DNA evidence under Valencia's nail can be explained by their sexual acts and could have been found even days after their last encounter. She said that doesn't prove Rios killed Valencia. She also questioned the hairs found on the body.

Leftwich told jurors that Rios worked until 3 a.m. June 5, then shared a few beers with other officers before heading home. She said the argument the neighbor overheard likely occurred while Rios was still with other officers a few miles away. Also, she said, another man noticed a distraught man running through Valencia's neighborhood around that time, when Rios was elsewhere.

She said Valencia "had sexual contact with many men," including Rios, and summed up by saying, "This one, the evidence will show, did not kill him."

The predominantly female jury was chosen Monday in Clay County and brought to Columbia for the trial.

The former policeman had twice threatened suicide and for a while was held in a state mental hospital at Fulton. In January, Rios was moved to the Boone County Jail pending trial. He resigned from the police department June 16 and was charged July 1.