WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Reynaldo Mercado of Wilkes-Barre faces homicide, robbery, burglary, and other charges in the death of Fred Boote in Wilkes-Barre in September of 2018 after a planned robbery turned deadly.
Mercado's murder trial is being held at the Mohegan Sun Arena for social distancing purposes.
Opening statements started just before 9 a.m. on Monday in the arena.
While the prosecution began to make a case for a motive for Reynaldo Mercado, his defense attorney said he might be guilty of some of the charges against him, but not all, including first-degree murder.
But Mercado was not alone; he shares these charges with Louisa "Alex" Reyes. She was 14 years old at the time of the murder.
Investigators say Reyes knew the victim, and the two plotted to rob him.
In opening statements, the prosecution said the teen knocked on Boote's door and when he answered, she and Reynaldo Mercado got into the house.
The robbery was unsuccessful, and a struggle ensued.
Then, Reyes went into the kitchen, got a knife, and gave it to Mercado, who then stabbed and killed Boote.
Then Mercado doused the victim's body with gas and lit it on fire before the two ran off to New Jersey.
Louisa Reyes has pleaded guilty for her part in the death. She will testify as a witness for the prosecution.
The prosecution says her experience as a witness is all the jury will need to know beyond a reasonable doubt that Mercado is guilty on all charges.
While Mercado's defense says Reyes has changed her story multiple times, and because she hasn't received her sentence for her guilty plea, her testimony should be looked at critically because of her role in what happened to Fred Boote should exonerate Mercado of the first-degree murder charge.
The jury spent hours going over the crime scene, evidence left behind, and autopsy photos of Fred Boote.
The trial picks back up Tuesday morning at the arena.