The next witness for the prosecution was also their key witness: Yuni Medellin, Joe Medellin’s little brother. Yuni gave a graphic description of what happened that night. His testimony was difficult for many in the gallery to hear, especially the girls’ parents. The youngest participant in the attacks also seemed to express remorse—not for the girls, but rather for getting caught.
“Why did this have to happen to me the first time?” Yuni wondered aloud in reference to the night of the murders being the first time he ever went out with his brother and his brother’s friends.
Yuni Medellin spoke of how Cantu took him aside after they had sexually savaged the two girls and told him they would have to kill the girls. “He talked low to me,” Yuni said, “‘We’re going to have to kill them.’”
Adolph later discussed how difficult it was to watch one of the six boys responsible for the rape and murder of his daughter on the witness stand. “It was so hard to not want to jump up out of my seat and over that rail and just strangle him. You had to control yourself.” It was a constant test of will for Adolph to keep that pain within himself. “The anger—you just have to talk your way through it. You have to calm down. You hope they will get what they deserve, and hopefully, justice will prevail.”
The first day’s testimony ended with Christina Cantu, Peter Cantu’s sister-in-law, testifying against her husband’s younger brother. She recalled how the boys bragged about the killings later that night. She testified that some of them had blood on their bodies and clothes. She also mentioned how they were all giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls. She finished by describing how she convinced her husband to call Crime Stoppers and turn them in.
The following morning, February 1, the key witness for the day was Joe Cantu, Peter’s older brother. Joe testified for nearly an hour about the lifestyle that he, his brother, and their friends lived. While many attempted to paint them as a bona fide street gang, he described them as a group of friends, more like a family, who had each other’s backs, but rarely, if ever, resorted to violence.
Peter Cantu could not bring himself to look at his older brother on the witness stand. He spent the entire hour of Joe’s testimony either fiddling with papers on the defendant’s table or leaning over and whispering into Davis’s ear. He made it a point not to acknowledge his brother’s presence.
Joe Cantu recalled the boys’ description of the killings of the two girls, again, in explicit detail. He claimed the reason he called Crime Stoppers was to protect his wife, Christina, who suffered nightmares ever since the encounter with Peter and the guys.
“I couldn’t stand to see my wife that way,” Joe Cantu testified.
The other key moment of that day’s testimony came when defense attorney Don Davis argued about the nature of the crime scene and autopsy photos of the victims. He argued that the large quantity of the photos ventured into prejudicial territory due to their gruesome nature. The prosecution successfully argued that were it not for Davis’s client and his client’s actions, such photos would not exist and would not need to be presented to a jury.
Adolph Pena recalled the difficulty of having to listen for the first time to the details of his daughter’s murder. “They (the prosecutors) had tried to prepare us for what we were to expect with the gory details. We thought we were prepared, but it was really tough.
“You really didn’t know what the girls went through until you sit there and listen to all the gory details. In fine print, it’s detailed like nobody’s business. Which way their hair was and all that stuff.
“That first trial liked to kick my ass the first few days of it.”
Adolph was upset with the defense attorneys in the case because he believed they purposefully left out graphic photographs of his daughter’s crime scene on the defense table just in the line of sight of the Penas and Ertmans, who sat in the front row every day directly behind the prosecution. “They had these big ol’ photos of these girls that are half-mutilated. A couple of times, I’d seen the photos.” Adolph approached prosecutor Donna Goode.
“Donna, do me a favor,” Adolph asked.
“Anything, babe,” Goode responded.
“Tell them that when they flash those pictures that they flash them away from us. Nobody on this side of the bench needs to see those photos.” Adolph added, “Make sure the jurors see them, but not me. I want them to look at what happened, not me.”
Goode gladly did as she was asked, and the defense complied and made a point to be more discreet with the crime scene photos.
The remainder of the day’s testimony focused on the various police officers and crime scene investigators who worked the scene, also, details of Cantu’s arrest, the search of his home for evidence, and his subsequent confession to the rapes and murders. Cantu’s written statement was also read aloud for the record.
The third day of Cantu’s trial, February 2, was the grimmest. The focus was on more police officer testimony and medical testimony from dentists and a medical examiner (ME).
Several photos of the girls’ decomposed bodies at the crime scene were shown to the jury by the medical examiner. Some members of the jury were repulsed at the sight of Jennifer’s desiccated vagina, which had been devoured by maggots. Furthermore, the photo of Elizabeth’s detached skull as it lay on the autopsy table caused several jurors to turn away. One male juror simply put his face in his hands after he witnessed the photographic carnage. Another male juror quietly cried after viewing the atrocities.
Peter Cantu could not be bothered to look up to catch the jurors’ reactions. He merely continued scribbling in his notebook.
The testimony, however, was too much to bear for the families of the girls. Both Adolph Pena and Randy Ertman rushed out of their pews and into the hallway. Each man clutched the other around the shoulder and shielded their faces from the cameras that followed. Sobs were easily audible as the two men headed for the elevator.
After the day’s testimony ended, Andy Kahan spoke to the press about the horrors witnessed inside the courtroom. “That was some of the most gruesome testimony ever heard in a Harris County courthouse. Today, you are seeing the real, sheer savagery. The sexual assaults, the brutality. It just makes you want to wring their necks,” he stated of Peter Cantu and his cohorts.
Several members of the gallery were in tears by the end of the day’s testimony. Most of them had no idea just how much the girls were made to suffer. One spectator, Teresa Castillo, a friend of both girls, cried outside the courtroom. “I just can’t understand why he would do such horrible things to them. It’s disgusting.”
The fourth day of Cantu’s trial, Thursday, February 3, found the courtroom packed to the gills. Filled to capacity with more than three hundred onlookers, including nearly one hundred Waltrip High School students, with dozens lined up against the back wall of the courtroom, the anticipation hung over the gallery like pollution on a hot Houston summer sky. It was inevitable that a verdict for Peter Cantu would come this day.
Even more police officers took their place on the witness stand to lay out the minute details of the crime and arrest of Cantu. To conclude, Smyth read the entirety of Cantu’s confession.
The state rested and Judge Harmon turned to Don Davis, Rob Morrow, and the defendant. Davis informed the court the defendant had no witnesses to testify on his behalf. Davis later admitted he had difficulty finding anyone who was willing to do so. The defense also rested.
Prosecutor Donna Goode led off the closing arguments for the state. She first apologized to the jury for having to view so many gruesome photos of the victims; however, she explained to them that it was the handiwork of the defendant, not the state of Texas. Goode then proceeded to plow through all the charges and attempted to clarify the legal mumbo jumbo for the jurors. She narrowed it down that Cantu could be convicted for his direct actions, for his participation with others from the group, or for his encouragement or ordering of others to do his bidding.
Goode also described the actions o
f Cantu and his buddies as “much like a pack of dogs feeding on its prey or a frenzy of sharks going after something.”
Don Davis’s argument for Peter Cantu basically consisted of claiming, since his client did not have any blood on his boots or clothes four days later, he could not have killed the girls.
Prosecutor Don Smyth gave the final argument and asked the jurors to simply go back and read Cantu’s own words from his confession. Smyth also praised the jury for undertaking such a difficult task.
“You have had to hear about a part of society that you never believed existed,” Smyth consoled them. “Nobody could do that. Nobody. But I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, if you take a careful look at the evidence, you know that it does happen. Unfortunately, it did happen, and because of that you are now a different person.” Smyth continued looking directly into the eyes of all members of the jury panel. “Your mood is as gray as the sky outside. You’ll never look at your own kids the same way. When you hug them, you will hug them a little tighter, a little longer, because of people like this defendant, because you never know when you are going to see them again.”
Smyth paused and turned around to look at Cantu. “Because of what he did,” Smyth declared as he pointed at the defendant, “the Penas and the Ertmans never got to hug their daughters again.” The parents of the girls were fighting back tears. The audience in the gallery hinged on Smyth’s every word.
The prosecutor closed out the state’s case by adding, “This defendant is guilty of the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman. There is only one true and fair verdict to render—guilty of capital murder.”
Smyth again turned his attention to the defendant and directly addressed him. “Peter Cantu, you did it. You’re responsible for it.”
The silence was overwhelming.
Judge Harmon instructed the jury to deliberate Cantu’s fate.
Less than half an hour later, his fate was sealed.
The jury returned to the courtroom. Judge Harmon had already admonished the gallery to keep its collective voices down and warned that any outbursts would lead to jail time.
Jury foreman Stephen Profitt read the verdict to the courtroom.
“We, the jury, find the defendant, Peter Anthony Cantu, guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment.” Cantu had a combination look of surprise and a smile on his face as the guilty verdict was read. He scratched his right cheek with his right hand. Davis placed his hand on Cantu’s right shoulder and the now-convicted Peter Cantu sat down in his chair. He continued to look bemused at the verdict.
As the verdict was read, the reaction in the gallery was drastically different. Nearly everyone was on the edge of their seats. One very noticeable sight occurred at the front of the wooden railing that separated Randy Ertman from Cantu by less than ten feet. Randy’s large body could be seen slightly bouncing up and down in a staccato motion. His movements were accentuated by quick bursts of sobs. He kept his head down so most people could not see the rivulets of tears streaming down his cheeks into his sandy blond beard.
When the word “guilty” was uttered by the foreman, it seemed as if the entire room exhaled. The tension quickly released as the spectators realized the first defendant had gone down. Randy, however, did not appear relieved. He continued to convulsively sob.
After the verdict was read and the jurors were polled, Judge Harmon informed the court the penalty phase of Cantu’s trial would begin the following morning, at ten.
After several minutes, everyone was ushered out of the courtroom into the hallway of the courthouse. Randy and Adolph clutched each other in a manly embrace and both began to sob. They buried their heads into the other’s neck and wept openly and loudly.
Randy appeared befuddled, as if he were not quite sure that he heard a verdict of guilty. He pulled back from Adolph, with his friend’s head cradled in his large hand, and half-stated, half-asked, “We got it. We got it. We got it. Right?”
Adolph simply nodded his head. He was speechless.
Several of the girls’ friends were not speechless, nor were they shy about their opinions of Peter Cantu. Nikole Martinez, a girlfriend of Elizabeth’s, stated, “I wish everything that happened to her would happen to him.”
Jennifer and Elizabeth’s friend, Anthony Calleo, added, “He got what he deserved. I hope he gets the death penalty. He should fry.”
Adolph spoke about what it was like having to look at the alleged ringleader who was responsible for killing his daughter: “It was hard for me to sit there in control.”
Randy Ertman added in an interview with the National Enquirer that he looked forward to the day Cantu would be executed.
Chapter 36
Friday, February 4, 1994—10:00 A.M.
Harris County Courthouse
178th District Court—room 7D
San Jacinto Street
Houston, Texas
The prosecution brought in several witnesses to paint a picture of Peter Cantu as a less than savory character who had been that way for a while. He was described as a thug, a bully, and a stalker.
Many people from his past were brought in to lay out a timeline from the beginning of the downfall of Cantu. A grown-up Darren McElroy and his mother testified about the bicycle theft Cantu engaged in when he was eleven years old.
Cantu’s former sixth-grade teacher, Diane Caudill, testified how he bullied her in her own classroom. The petite young woman expressed how terrified of him she was back then, and that she has been in fear of him ever since.
As more and more witnesses filed in, it became increasingly clear that Peter Cantu had been heading in a more violent direction with each day.
The prosecution also brought in Melissa Pena and Randy Ertman to talk about their daughters. Many people in the gallery wept as the parents recalled their daughters and the things they enjoyed doing with them. They cried even more when the parents were asked to describe the pain and misery they experienced ever since the murders of their daughters.
After the first day of punishment testimony had ended, several girls gathered in the hallway to discuss the loss of two of their best friends. They also spoke of how the murders of Elizabeth and Jennifer had changed their lives.
“I listen to my parents more,” Elina Figueroa admitted. “I don’t like going out so much anymore, and I definitely won’t go anywhere without a big group of people.”
Yet another, smaller group of girls also congregated in the hallway away from the other group. These were also pretty Hispanic high-school girls. They were friends of Cantu’s.
“They’re just showing the bad side of Peter,” stated one girl. “He was always real nice to me. He is not like they are portraying him in court.”
Another attractive girl, with big hair and ultra-red lipstick, added, “He was a nice guy. They’re bringing all the bad points up, but he really wasn’t a bad person.”
The following day, even more witnesses were paraded in front of the jury to map out the downward trajectory of Peter Cantu’s life.
Prosecutor Don Smyth stated the issue very clearly: “Peter wrote this story. We’re just reading it.”
The defense brought in Peter’s mother, Suzie Cantu. The mother testified for almost ninety minutes. She came across as devoted, if somewhat delusional, toward her son. She tried to show he was a normal kid who tended not to listen to his mother. She expressed how much she loved her son and how surprised she was he would be involved in such a heinous crime.
Cantu’s father could not make it to his son’s trial because he suffered from epilepsy.
Things were not looking good for Peter Cantu.
At the end of the defense testimony, at 4:30 P.M., Judge Harmon instructed the jury to begin deliberations.
In the halls of the courthouse after the day’s testimony, Cantu’s lead defense attorney made a startling proclamation. “Peter Cantu is innocent.” Don Davis shocked members of the hardened press with his statement. Davis stated his client admitted to participating
in the rapes, but did not participate in the actual murders of the girls. “He feels remorse for not stopping the murders,” Davis declared.
Prosecutor Don Smyth reacted to Davis’s eleventh-hour claim: “I’d take issue with that. The only thing he probably regrets is that he got caught, because it turns out the cops know what they can do, and that’s catch people.”
Four hours later, the jury returned. Unfortunately, Judge Harmon was nowhere to be found. After several minutes, he was finally located.
Before he returned to courtroom 7D, Judge Harmon came across victims’ rights advocate Andy Kahan.
“Andy, let me ask you something.” Judge Harmon stopped the much taller Kahan.
“Sure, Judge. What do you need?”
“What would you think about me letting the parents speak to Cantu after the sentence is read?”
Kahan was elated. “I think that would be fantastic. It should really help them on the road to healing.”
“You might mention it to them.” Harmon referred to the families. He nodded and entered the courtroom through his back entrance.
Judge Harmon asked for the jurors to be admitted into the overflowing courtroom. Despite the late hour, the room was again packed to the rafters.
“Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?” Judge Harmon inquired.
“Yes, we have,” replied jury foreman Stephen Profitt.
The judge asked Profitt to hand the sentence to the bailiff, who, in turn, handed it to Judge Harmon. The judge unfolded the document, read it carefully, and looked up at Cantu.
“Special issue one,” Harmon began to read the verdict. “Is there probability that the defendant, Peter Anthony Cantu, would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society?”
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