From an In Music We Trust press release:
Jesus Mezquia, a 49-year-old Cuban-born man living in Florida, plead not guilty to the charges of first-degree murder for the 1993 death of Seattle-based post-punk outfit The Gits’ lead singer Mia Zapata. But, on Thursday, March 25, 2004, after a three day deliberation, the jury delivered the guilty verdict before King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong. Mezquia now faces 20 years to life in prison for his crimes. Sentencing will begin in April.
Good for health! Buy viagra online. Any trustworthy pharmacy will insist on a prescription from a health care provider who has seen you in person.Today, Zapata’s friend and former band mate, Steve Moriarty, issued a statement:
“I was in a band called The Gits. We formed in 1986 and moved to Seattle from Ohio in 1989. We released some singles and an album, “Frenching the Bully” in 1992. We had just returned to Seattle from a west coast tour and were finishing our second album, “Enter: the Conquering Chicken” in July of ’93 when our singer, Mia Zapata was abducted and murdered.
In addition to the police investigation, we hired a private investigator. Every band from Nirvana to Hootie and the Blowfish played benefit shows to help us fund the investigation. The years passed by and few clues were revealed. We never gave up hope that we would find the bastard who killed our friend, plunged our community into fear and ended The Gits.
Unknown to us, the medical examiner who examined Mia’s body saved a skin sample surrounding Mia’s wounds. In 1993 DNA science was just starting to be used in forensics. The M.E. showed incredible foresight to know that technology would advance to be capable of identifying the man who created the wounds. This DNA sample was put in a national data base of violent felons and matched a guy in Florida. Miami police picked him up and he was extradited to Seattle to face murder charges.
On March 1st the trial began. I covered the details of the trial here. On March 25th he was convicted of the premeditated rape and murder of Mia. Sentencing will be in April. He faces 25 to life in prison. We are hoping that many fans and friends will attend the sentencing to influence the judge to give him the maximum penalty.
Check here for the date to be announced soon.”
Finally.