Charging documents against 22-year-old Victor Enrique Garcia say he told Anchorage police that he described himself in a "dark place" the morning of Jan. 18, when he allegedly killed 21-year-old T.R.E.L. Zawko.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon more than three months after the murder, two pews for court witnesses were packed at the Anchorage jail court house. On the other side of the room separated by glass, suspects read their charging documents against them for the first time.
Zawko's mother heard the Garcia's arraignment over the phone. Garcia, in a yellow jumpsuit, read the State's three-page charging documents accusing him of murder in the second degree and told the judge it was accurate when asked.
According to court papers, Anchorage police went to home of T.R.E.L. Zawko, on the 1300 block of Crescent Drive, after a roommate found him bleeding from the head and face in the garage around 1:30 p.m., Jan. 18. Zawko was pronounced dead on the scene by medics and an autopsy revealed he had injuries that were "consistent with multiple and severe blunt force trauma injuries to the head."
Garcia had lived in the attached duplex and his brother told police that he was at home earlier, but didn't know where he was shortly before 2 p.m. that day. An hour later, a caller told police dispatch that Garcia had walked out of the woods about a half-mile south from his home with a self-inflicted cut to his neck and told the caller, "you need to call 911, they need to come arrest me."
Footprints with a Herringbone pattern matching Garcia's footwear were found leading away from the shared garage through the backyard and two witnesses spotted a man matching Garcia's description walking in the neighborhood just after the initial 911 call, according to court documents.
Police officers found a bent aluminum baseball bat with "blood on portions of the barrel" in the snow just outside of the garage where Zawko was found. Court documents say "DNA consistent with Garcia's DNA profile was found on the handle of the bat along with DNA consistent with Zawko's DNA profile."
Garcia made statements to police in later interviews describing the murder weapon as a bat, which police had not previously disclosed.
The judge told Garcia his punishment ranged from 10 years to a maximum of 99 years and a $500,000 fine. He was appointed a public defender, since he declared he had not been working before his arrest. Zawko's mother made no statement when the judge set Garcia's bail at $100,000 with a third party custodian.
Garcia made a half roll of his papers and went back to the jail house benches. His next court appearance will be Tuesday, May 7 for a pre-indictment hearing.
Contact Neil Torquiano
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T.R.E.L. Zawko Murder: Suspect Lived Next Door, Tried to Cut His Own Neck
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