Clovis attempted murder case is first tried by an elected Fresno County DA in 20-plus years

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A jury will decide the fate of a Clovis man accused of trying to kill his wife and then fled the country in a case Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp is prosecuting herself.

With several kids in the audience, the D.A. told jurors she tells her own children she's a professional lie detector and when Bernardo Madueno testified, she caught several of them.

"That's the big bad murder weapon, or I should say attempted murder weapon because, by some miracle of God, she lived," Smittcamp said.

Five gunshot wounds didn't kill the victim when her husband, Bernardo Madueno, opened fire on her as she ran away from their home in May 2015.

So he jumped on top of her and continued his attack, according to Smittcamp.

"I mean, imagine the scene. It's unthinkable. Shot her five times and sat on her and punched her in the face," Smittcamp said to a jury.

One of the victim's five daughters said she tried to break it up, so Madueno punched her too.

Parts of the attack are audible in the 9-1-1 call the victim made during the attack.

Madueno admits he went to Las Vegas and then Mexico after the shooting.

He blamed his wife for constantly demeaning him and escalating an argument.

His defense attorney said he could not justify Madueno's actions, but argued it's not a premeditated crime. It's attempted manslaughter, not attempted murder.

"We know the incident from the time of the argument until the time of the end of the shooting happened very fast," said defense attorney Michael Aed.

Smittcamp said Madueno couldn't keep his story straight because he's lying about all of it.

She says it only takes a moment to premeditate, but the victim also said Madueno had previously threatened to harm her and then run off to Mexico, where he had family.

Jurors heard the case on Monday afternoon, and it's possible they may not start deliberations until Tuesday morning.

Smittcamp is the first Fresno County District Attorney to prosecute a trial in more than 20 years.