Frightening description of murder in Sunnyside den of drugs

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno woman gave a frightening description of death by baseball bat and other weapons in a beautiful Sunnyside home that had turned into a den of drugs.

"What were you afraid of?" prosecutor Sam Dalesandro asked her.

"Everything that had just went on, what was still going to happen," said Delilah Luna.

Christopher Zuniga was killed in the 3800-square-foot house back in January 2011. Marcos Gonzales and Richard Escalon are now on trial for murder.

The wrought iron gate around this Sunnyside home offered no protection for Zuniga. Actually, it offered no protection from him either.

The homeowner told Action News three years ago that the 38-year-old convicted felon had no business in the house where his life ultimately ended. But, as he put it, unsavory people had taken over the property from his estranged wife.

Among those people were Zuniga, Richard Escalon and Marcos Gonzales. A woman who watched Zuniga die says the final showdown started when Escalon and Gonzales confronted him over money in the basement of the home.

"Christopher Zuniga threw the first blow, didn't he?" asked defense attorney Linden Lindahl.

"Mmm hmm," said Luna. "Yes."

Delilah Luna was Gonzales' girlfriend until just before the killing. We're not allowed to show her face, but she testified the argument quickly escalated and Gonzales hit Zuniga over the head with a baseball bat. The victim ran upstairs, but Luna says Escalon caught him. As everyone else gathered in the kitchen, Luna says Escalon appeared to stab Zuniga to death. But his attorney questioned whether she knew exactly what she'd seen.

"Did you ever see him with an object in his hand, stabbing?" asked defense attorney Gerald Schwab.

"No I did not," said Luna.

Escalon nodded and often caught Gonzales' eye during testimony. The defendants admit they killed Zuniga, but they say it was self-defense. Prosecutors say they went well beyond self-defense in chasing Zuniga. Gonzales even took a few more swings after the victim was down.

"What was Christopher doing when Mr. Gonzales hit him again with the bat?" Dalesandro, the prosecutor, asked.

"He couldn't do nothing," said Luna. "He was on the ground."

She says Escalon and Gonzales talked about killing all the witnesses, but decided against it. Instead, she says, they wouldn't let her leave and put her to work cleaning up blood inside the house.

Outside, a messy clutter greeted neighbors for days, and Zuniga's burned body turned up three days later in an orchard near Del Rey.