Henry Segura appears in court for his penalty hearing in the first-degree murders of his girlfriend Brandi Peters, their 3-year-old son JaVante Segura, and Tamiyah and Taniyah Peters, the adult victim’s twin 6-year-old daughters who were not the defendant’s kids. A jury will decide whether to recommend the death penalty for this crime, or just life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said Henry Segura killed the victims because he owed over $20,000 in child support for the care of his son. The defendant testified, however, that he was confident that he could’ve gotten that amount lowered. He said he was at Peters’ home the day of the murders, but left before the incident, and spent the rest of the night at his residence. His defense attempted to present alternate explanations for who was responsible for the slayings: Peters, they said, was involved in the drug trade, and was possibly killed because of it.
#SeguraRetrial – Def closing: On the envelope of a letter sent to Brandi, received the day before the murders from Santos: “Death before dishonor. Word is bond. Bond is life and a man should give his life before his word fails. Say what you mean and mean what you say.” pic.twitter.com/jTR7cnUs0H
— Law & Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) November 19, 2019
Segura insisted he had nothing to do with the killings, but he lost his temper during cross-examination of his testimony, even going as far as to argue with the judge.
“Who you pointing at?” he told Judge James Hankinson on November 13. “I’m a grown man.”
Prosecutor Jon Fuchs took advantage of this outburst, highlighting it during closing arguments.
#SeguraRetrial – Prosecutor Fuchs brings up this interaction with the judge during his testimony saying Segura is the “man that gets frustrated and snaps” pic.twitter.com/4JJdPHN3y7
— Law & Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) November 19, 2019
[Screengrab via Law&Crime Network]