By Khalida Sarwari
A defense attorney for a man accused of killing his girlfriend and setting her body ablaze in Palo Alto argued for his client’s innocence in Santa Clara County Superior Court today by pointing to a discrepancy between results from an accelerant-sniffing dog and lab reports.
Today was the second day of a trial for Bulos “Paul” Zumot, a 37-year-old Palo Alto hookah bar owner charged with murder and arson in connection with the death of 29-year-old real estate agent Jennifer Schipsi on Oct. 15, 2009.
Zumot faces a maximum sentence of 33 years to life if convicted.
Prosecutors allege that Zumot killed Schipsi and then set their Addison Avenue home on fire with her body inside. The pair had a history of domestic abuse and reportedly got into a fight the night before Schipsi’s death.
Zumot was arrested four days later at Da Hookah Spot, a smoking lounge he owns on University Avenue.
Prosecutors claim a trained dog named Rosie detected accelerant in the house and on Zumot’s clothes.
Dennis Johnsen, Santa Clara County chief fire investigator and handler of the dog, was one of three witnesses to take the stand today.
He said the dog detected fuel near Schipsi’s bed, in her hair, on Zumot’s clothes, and in the passenger floor mat and carpet of Zumot’s Land Rover.
Zumot’s attorney, Mark Geragos, said a testing of Zumot’s clothes did not reveal any traces of fuel. He questioned Johnsen about the dog’s rate of accuracy and asked why he did not keep track of those statistics.
Johnsen said he was not aware of what happened to the items after they were packaged and sent off to the lab for testing.
Santa Clara County Medical Examiner Dr. Glenn Nazareno revealed as part of his testimony that Schipsi had been strangled to death prior to the fire and that the blaze was set intentionally to conceal evidence.
As prosecutor Chuck Gillingham displayed graphic photos of Schipsi’s autopsy, Nazareno explained that there was no trace of soot in the airways of her lungs. He said she had a blunt force injury in her throat.
“She wasn’t breathing at the time she was set ablaze,” Nazareno said. “Her cause of death was due to strangulation.”
He said Schipsi’s body was charred and that it appeared she had been exposed to a great amount of heat, as indicated by the form she was found in, similar to a boxer’s stance. There was also a trace of amphetamines in her system, Nazareno said.
The trial will continue Wednesday morning.