A man accused of stabbing two homeless people to death in Anaheim told investigators he believed Kylie Jenner told him to, before going on to kill his cellmate while awaiting trial, prosecutors said during opening statements on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
“He didn’t have any particular animosity against the homeless community or homeless people,” associate District Attorney Christopher Alex said of Marvin Magallanes, the defendant. “He chose the homeless as victims because they were easy to find.”
Magallanes, 31, has schizophrenia, associate defender Michael Hill told jurors. He was under the delusion that he was in a relationship with the celebrity and receiving guidance from her. He believed she told him that an acquaintance of his was trying to “steal his life,” and the only way to prevent this was to end someone else’s, Hill said.
Wearing handcuffs, a surgical mask and a blue shirt, Magallanes kept his head bowed for much of the attorneys’ statements.
Magallanes walked into the Anaheim Police Department in May of 2017 and confessed to the January killing of 49-year-old Sabah Alsaad. At the time, investigators had already found DNA evidence tying that case to the earlier homicide of another homeless man, 52-year-old Onosai Tavita, Alex said.
After being charged with murder, he attempted to plead guilty during an initial court appearance. That led a judge to question Magallanes’ mental competency and order the first of what would be many psychological evaluations.
Over the last four years, Magallanes has been moved multiple times between Patton State Hospital and Orange County jails, as judges weighed whether he was fit to stand trial. Defendants must be able to understand the charges they are facing and must be capable of assisting with their own defense.
Magallanes is also suspected of strangling his cellmate, Danny Pham, an accused car thief, several weeks after his arrest. Alex described jailhouse surveillance footage depicting the homicide, which prosecutors plan to present to jurors at trial. He said Pham was seen facing out from the bars of his cell as the defendant allegedly came from behind, wrapped his arm around his throat and dragged him backwards.
Pham was found dead hours later on one of the cell’s beds, covered with a sheet, Alex said.
Pham’s death led to questions about why Magallanes — who according to law enforcement officials was an admitted double murderer — would be placed in a cell with an inmate facing a non-violent charge. But a District Attorney’s Office investigation ultimately cleared deputies of criminal culpability related to Pham’s death.
The jury must decide if Magallanes’ actions were malicious, premeditated killings, or mostly the result of his mental illness, Hill said. “I am asking you to convict him of the crimes he has committed, and those do not include first-degree murder,” he said.
But, Alex told the jury, “He knew what he did was wrong.”
Magallanes’ relatives reported that he was suffering from depression and began to believe The Kardashians cast member was communicating with him in late 2015 or early 2016, Hill said. Magallanes landed in headlines months later when he crashed his car into the gates of Jenner’s home in Calabasas in an attempt to meet her.
On several occasions, judges found Magallanes competent to stand trial, only for concerns about his mental health to arise again a short time later. Earlier this year, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger ruled that Magallanes is mentally competent, paving the way for his jury trial.
If convicted, Magallanes faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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