Fresno County man hears evidence against him in double murder

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno County man heard the evidence against him in the murders of two of his childhood friends.

Eloy Romero Jr. is the son of a special agent with the Department of Justice in Fresno. He faces two charges of first-degree murder.

Investigators say Romero Jr. acted nervous and shifty when asked point blank if he shot 38-year-old Joseph Blunt and 40-year-old George Duarte. Former Fresno County Deputy Romeo Grajeda, who worked on the case, testified, "His hands were quivering and he kind of looked like he was tense to me."

The California Highway Patrol first started investigating the case as a fatal crash. Blunt and Duarte were found dead on the side of the road after their car crashed into a tree this past May.

An autopsy, though, revealed the two actually died from close-range gunshot wounds to the head, before they crashed. Donna Davis with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office testified, "One was kind of behind and on the right side behind his ear and the second one was lower."

Their main suspect -- Romero Jr. -- was hiding out at a former girlfriend's house by the time investigators caught up with him a month later.

In court, the defendant's sister-in-law and mother-in-law also testified about how he visited them at their house in the days after the crash, telling them he was "in trouble." His in-laws testified that they saw Romero Jr. even after law enforcement stopped by their house looking for him. His mother-in-law took the stand saying, "I told him because he was going to smoke a cigarette and I told him they came and looked for you."

Testimony will resume Tuesday morning. Afterwards, a judge will determine what charges Eloy Romero Jr. will face at trial. Romero Jr. has denied the charges against him.