The man accused of killing Franca Barsi, Gilroy’s former Garlic
Queen, appeared Friday in Superior Court, but his plea was delayed
until March 23, as lawyers asked for more time to review
evidence.
– By Staff Report
San Martin – The man accused of killing Franca Barsi, Gilroy’s former Garlic Queen, appeared Friday in Superior Court, but his plea was delayed until March 23, as lawyers asked for more time to review evidence.
Police say David Reyes, 40, confessed to killing Barsi, his ex-girlfriend, after an argument at her Westwood Drive condominium Tuesday, Sept. 13. Barsi’s friends and family described a rocky on-again,
off-again relationship bet-ween Reyes, a convicted sex offender, and Barsi, a single mother remembered for her spark and promise as a young woman.
Reyes surrendered to police the day after the murder, following an hour-long car chase that ricocheted from San Jose to Gilroy
and back.
His plea has been delayed three times since Oct. 20, when he was first scheduled to appear in court. At each of his appearances, members of Reyes’ family have crowded the courtroom, sometimes eliciting a wink or a grin from the man. On the opposite side of the courtroom Friday, Barsi’s mother, Mara, and her sister Lauretta Avina sat with friend Tina Meyer, anxiously awaiting his plea.
