Gilroy – David Vincent Reyes confessed to Gilroy police last week that he killed his girlfriend, Franca Barsi, in a fit of anger following an argument with the 38-year-old single mother, according to documents released during his Monday arraignment.
A reference to the confession appears at the end of a two-page affidavit of probable cause, a basic statement of facts compiled by Gilroy police that allows county prosecutors to move forward in court with a murder charge against Reyes. Police investigators plan to release more detailed reports in coming days on the circumstances of Barsi’s death.
In the meantime, police refused to disclose additional specifics about the admission of guilt for fear of tainting the court process. Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal would not say if the confession was recorded, but said that as a general practice police create an audio or video record of all interviews with felony suspects.
“Before we question anybody, everybody has their Miranda rights read to them,” Svardal added. “People can choose to speak. They can choose to seek legal counsel. They can choose to remain silent. Our job is to simply try and get all the facts to present to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.”
Reyes was interviewed by Gilroy Police Detective Mitch Madruga last Thursday, after surrendering to police following an hour-long car chase. Police issued an arrest warrant for Reyes after discovering Barsi’s body
Wednesday morning in her condominium at 8155 Westwood Drive.
Three police officers responded to the scene of the crime.
“As they entered the victim’s bedroom they saw a blanket covering the top of the bed,” the affidavit stated. “(One officer) pulled the blanket back and the victim was found lying face down and was deceased.”
Family members and close friends believe Barsi, Gilroy’s 1986 Garlic Queen, died while trying to bring closure to a relationship they say was marked by cycles of abuse and reconciliation. Family members saw no signs of physical abuse but are convinced that Reyes exerted psychological control over Barsi. Her friend of 30 years, Belinda Pratt-Garcia, recounted stories about heated arguments in which Reyes would “throw things around her and break things around her.”
After Reyes was listed as a “person of interest” in the murder, Gilroy police alerted area law enforcement agencies and sent out a photo, detailed description of Reyes and a description of vehicles he might be driving.
Reyes was already on Gilroy’s most wanted list for armed robbery charges and for violating sex-offender registration laws.
According to Barsi’s family and friends, she had tried to break up with Reyes, but always seemed to get sucked back in.
They never saw signs of physical abuse, and they say she never complained that Reyes hit her or Andrew, her 10-year-old son. But they still believed the relationship was unhealthy.
“From my heart, I knew he must have had some kind of hold on her,” said Barsi’s mother, Mara Perez, who had encouraged her daughter many times to seek counseling. She said she doesn’t think Barsi ever tried to find help or filed a restraining order.
Reyes seemed to have a good relationship with Andrew, who never showed cause for concern during frequent visits with his grandmother in Gilroy or his aunt in Hollister. Still, Barsi’s sister Lauretta Avina said, “the one and only time I met him, I got a really bad impression. I was trying to tell her, ‘you can do better than this.’ ”
But apparently, Barsi revealed the darker details of her relationship with Reyes to her best friend of 30 years, and not her mother or her sister.
“It started off as mental, but she did tell me one incident where he was physical,” Pratt-Garcia said. “They would get into a very heated argument, and he would begin to throw things around her and break things around her. I believe he pushed her, but she didn’t go into any details. I think she was worried I would come down or bring someone with me to beat him up. She would say he’s not like this all the time. She said, ‘he promised he wasn’t going to hurt me again.’ I told her not to let him back into her life.”
The police affidavit said there was no sign of forced entry at the front door or any other entry point of the residence.
“She always saw the soft side of everyone,” Pratt-Garcia said. “I guess she thought that maybe he could change. She always gave everybody a second chance.”
Reyes, wearing shackles and gray prison garb, talked briefly with a public defender in court Monday afternoon before waiving the formal reading of charges. In addition to murder, he will face outstanding charges for armed robbery and failing to register as a sex offender.
Reyes previously served prison time on charges of sexual assault. He will remain in custody without bail while he awaits an Oct. 20 court hearing on all charges.
It’s unclear if Barsi was aware of the arrest warrants issued for Reyes. In August, his mug shot appeared in the Dispatch as part of GPD’s most wanted list, in connection with charges of armed robbery and for failing to register as a sex offender. A month earlier, in July, Barsi had her stepfather change the locks on her home in the gated condominium complex on Westwood Drive.
Following the arraignment, Avina thanked police and the media for bringing about the speedy capture of Reyes. Police spotted the 40-year-old driving Barsi’s white mini-van past the east San Jose home of his ex-wife and four children. Officers had arrived at the scene to check on a citizen report of a red Honda Civic, another car registered to Barsi’s name and also reported as missing in news accounts.
“Everyone’s going to miss Franca,” her sister said. “It’s left such a hole in our hearts. I trust the legal system. I know that it will work and justice will be served.”
Barsi capped a standout high school career in 1986 by getting crowned Gilroy’s Garlic Queen, an award conferred on young women who show a spirit of leadership and volunteerism. Barsi cut short her education in film and television in Los Angeles and returned to Gilroy after her father became ill. In Gilroy, she met the eventual father of her 10-year-old son, Andrew Sanguindel-Barsi.
She met Reyes several years ago in the check-out line of PW Supermarket, where she worked as a cashier, according to Pratt-Garcia.
The last time anyone heard from Barsi was Tuesday afternoon, when she called her son on his cell phone, told him she had to go to San Jose and that he should ask his grandmother for a ride home from school. Friends and family, who said Barsi devoted to her life to her son, believe she had decided to force a final break with Reyes.
“I have a feeling the night that she died, that was it,” Pratt-Garcia said. “He just couldn’t take no for an answer. He didn’t want to let it go. I think that’s why she made the phone call. She didn’t want her son to be around what was going to happen. She protected her son from everything.”
Victims of domestic violence leave a relationship up to seven times before they end it permanently, according to Perla Flores, director of domestic violence and sexual abuse programs at Community Solutions, a nonprofit human services agency based in Morgan Hill. Victims worry about physical threats or the prospect of losing income or housing, Flores said. Often they genuinely believe the person loves them and will change.
“Unfortunately, when a victim of domestic violence tries to leave a relationship permanently, that is when it’s most dangerous for her,” Flores said. “Domestic violence is about power and control. When an abuser feels they’re losing control of that victim, the ultimate means of having control is taking a life.”
Perez reported her daughter missing Tuesday night after repeated phone calls to her cell phone were not answered and her daughter’s Honda Civic was not at her condominium.
On Thursday morning, Reyes was arrested after an hour-long pursuit from San Jose on Highway 101 to Gilroy and back to San Jose again.
San Jose police caught sight of Reyes while responding to a citizen tip about a red Honda Civic, which was registered in Barsi’s name, that was parked on Basch Avenue in east San Jose. Reyes then led police west through the city and down Hwy. 101, according to San Jose Police Sgt. Nick Muyo. Once they reached the Tennant Avenue exit in Morgan Hill, Muyo said, the chase was handed off to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officers followed Reyes as he exited in Gilroy at Leavesley Road and immediately turned back onto Hwy. 101 headed north.
Reyes ultimately surrendered without a struggle at the spot where police first caught sight of him driving a white Chrysler minivan with wood paneling, though not before he rammed the van into a police car, said San Jose police spokesman Nick Muyo.
“It was a very controlled pursuit; there was not a lot of movement,” Muyo added, saying that chase speeds never exceeded 45 mph on city streets and 70 mph on the highway. No one was injured during the chase.
Get Help
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, get help by calling the crisis line (408) 683-4118 at nonprofit Community Solutions or visiting their offices, at 16264 Church St. in Morgan Hill, or 6980 Chestnut St. in Gilroy.
Funeral Services
Here is where Rosary will be on Fri., Sept. 22 at 7pm at St. Mary Catholic Church in Gilroy, 11 First St. Mass will be on Sat., Sept. 23 at 2pm at St. Mary. Interment will follow the mass at St. Mary Cemetery.
Friends can pay their respects from 2pm until 5:30pm at Habing Family Funeral Home, 129 4th St.
Memorial Fund for Son
The family of Franca Barsi has established a memorial trust fund for her son, Andrew Sanguindel-Barsi, at Bank of America. Checks should be made out to her mother, Mara Perez, and mailed to 1265 Meadow Way Circle, Hollister, 95023.
Serdar Tumgoren, Senior Staff Writer, covers City Hall for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7109 or st*******@************ch.com.
Staff Writer Marilyn Dubil contributed to this story.
