A man accused of killing and dismembering his live-in boyfriend, whose head and body parts were found off a hiking trail in Griffith Park, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder.
Gabriel Campos-Martinez, 40, is facing 25 years to life in prison for the killing of 66-year-old Herve Medellin, whose head was found in the park in January 2012. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 16.
Some of the victim's remains were found by two women who were walking dogs on a trail just below the Hollywood sign. More body parts were discovered in the popular hiking area by law enforcement search dogs.
Medellin's hands, feet and head were found wrapped in plastic, according to Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace.
"That same type of plastic was found in that victims residence," Grace said.
Search terms found on a computer found in the place where both men lived were also critical to the jury's decision.
"How to dismember a human carcass for human consumption," Grace said.
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Prosecutors believe Martinez strangled the victim just after Christmas 2011 and dumped his body parts following a visit by police asking about Medellin's whereabouts. No new evidence surfaced from the time the remains were discovered in 2012 and Martinez's arrest in Texas two years later until right in the middle of the trial.
"We found new evidence," Grace said. "We found tissue specimens that had been buried in the mouth of Bronson Canyon Cave, which people familiar with that know the popular TV series 'Batman' was filmed."
The body parts weren't decomposed, leading prosecutors to believe Martinez refrigerated or somehow stored the remains.
He married a woman in Texas when he was arrested. A woman was in court Thursday and Martinez kept looking at her, but she would not confirm her identity.
