Norma Patricia Esparza, the Webster University Geneva professor charged in connection with a 1995 murder, remains in custody in Orange, Calif. A pre-trial hearing is set for Jan. 31. Her preliminary hearing was continued to Feb. 26 from Dec. 23, 2013.
The preliminary hearing will decide if the prosecutors have enough evidence to take Esparza’s case to a jury trial. At the pre-trial hearing, the prosecution and defense will have an opportunity to present new evidence and testimonies to be used in the case going forward.
Esparza is one of four suspects charged in the 1995 murder of Gonzalo Ramirez in Orange, Calif.
Esparza was released October 2012 on $300,000 bail until Nov. 21, 2013, when her bail was overturned in response to her unwillingness to plead guilty. In an article she wrote for Huffington Post, Esparza said she felt her bail being revoked was a betrayal of her trust because she had been working with the prosecution to build a case against the other three defendants.
Esparza is a professor of psychology at Webster’s Geneva campus.
If found guilty, Esparza could face life in prison without the chance for parole.
To read The Journal’s past coverage of Esparza’s trial, visit websterjournal.com.
Reporting by Gabe Burns
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