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KEALAKEKUA >> A Big Island man incarcerated for two years while charged with murder was acquitted last week after a retrial.
A jury found Eber Miranda-Garcia not guilty of the 2015 killing of his landlord, West Hawaii Today reported Friday.
“I’m very happy I soon will be able to be with my family — my wife and daughter — the two most important people to me,” he said after the trial.
“In this case, the jury has given a family the justice they’ve deserved,” said defense attorney Terri Fujioka-Lilley. “This jury, they’ve given him his life back.”
Miranda-Garcia and his brother Marlon were arrested in 2017 in the killing of Dolores “Lolo” Borja-Valle, whose body was found in a Captain Cook coffee field. The two men were initially tried together last year but jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
Deputy Prosecutor Sheri Lawson didn’t comment on how Eber Miranda-Garcia’s acquittal Thursday affects the trial of his brother, which is scheduled for July.
Lawson said the case was difficult because it was based on circumstantial evidence.
Fujioka-Lilley said she feels sad the family of Borja-Valle doesn’t have closure. “But sending Eber to prison would not be justice,” she said.
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