The death penalty trial has started for one of the men accused of killing four people in the most brutal murder case in the history of the city of McKinney.
The trial for Raul Cortez, 27, began Monday morning at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney.
Cortez and Eddie Ray Williams, 26, are charged with five counts of murder in the March 12, 2004 deaths of Rosa Barbosa, 46, her nephew, Mark Barbosa, 25, and his friends, Matthew Self, 17 and Austin York, 18.
The family of the victims filled the courtroom, but they were instructed by Prosecutor Greg Davis not to speak to the media.
A friend of the Self family said they are happy they are one step closer to closure now that the trial has begun, but also said it's hard to re-live the murders.
In his opening statements, Davis said it was greed that led to the murders of four innocent people. He said DNA evidence and ballistics would find Cortez guilty.
Defense attorney Richard Franklin said the DNA evidence is inconclusive.
Robert Barbosa, Mark Barbosa's brother, testified in the trial. Robert Barbosa lived with his aunt. He said he walked in his aunt's house on March 12, 2004 and heard the noise of someone gasping for air. He turned on the lights to find the bodies of his aunt, his brother and York. Self was clinging to life. Barbosa called 911.
McKinney Police said Cortez and his brother, Javier Cortez and Williams wanted to steal the keys to a check cashing business where Rosa Barbosa worked. Police said the robbery was botched when Mark Barbosa, Self and York walked in on them.
Javier Cortez was not charged in the murders.
Davis said the trial is expected to last about two weeks and will be an outline of the entire investigation.
Cortez faces the death penalty if he is convicted.
