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Murder Trial Begins For Saugus Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend

On Aug. 5, 2011, Karla Brada bailed her fiance, Eric Earle, out of jail.


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Less than a month later, she was found dead in the home the couple shared, asphyxiated and covered in bruises.

Eight men and four women began to hear testimony Monday in the murder trial of Eric Allen Earle, 43, who’s accused of killing Karla Brada.A picture of Karla Brada, which was shown in court Monday

Related:Saugus Man Pleads Not Guilty To Girlfriend’s Murder

In the opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Elena Abramson described Earle as an abusive, controlling boyfriend who beat his girlfriend in an argument ending with Brada’s death Sept. 1, 2011.

Earle’s attorney, David Arredondo, said the pair engaged in their “bad conduct” — methadone, amphetamines and alcohol were found in Brada’s system at the time of her death — and Brada’s death was caused by a lethal amount of methadone in her system.

Abramson opened with a picture of Brada, noting the victim would have turned 35 on Sept. 3, the day before jurors were to get their notice for service.

In early 2011, Brada and Earle met in an alcoholics anonymous meeting where both were struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. Within a few months, the two were living together in Brada’s two-bedroom condo in Saugus.

Related: Saugus Man Ordered To Stand Trial For Girlfriend’s Death

The relationship quickly turned violent, Abramson contended, explaining in her opening remarks how Earle allegedly isolated Brada from her friends, while manipulating her and physically abusing her.

Arredondo declined to say whether Earle would testify on his own behalf during the trial.

He said his client had no reason to kill Brada and that he loved her, Arredondo said.

“Much of the case here will depend upon expert testimony,” Arredondo said, but adding if the justice system relied on experts alone, there would be no need for the jury.

“The conclusion here is death by asphyxiation,” Arredondo said. “The problem here is that, there’s also methadone.”

 

Eric Allen Earle

Abramson also said she planned to introduce evidence that Earle assaulted his ex-wife and then bragged about choking her with a pillow so there wouldn’t be any bruises.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks, according to the court’s schedule. Testimony will continue Tuesday.

The criminal complaint against Earle alleges murder, and notes a prior conviction for felony evasion of arrest.

For Brada’s mother, Jaroslava Mendez, who wore black dog tags with her daughter’s picture painted on them, and a purple wrist band with “RIP Karla Brada” on it,  today’s trial was something she’d been waiting for several years.

“It’s been horrible, we haven’t lived (since the murder),” she said, adding the death of her daughter has changed everything.

The death has also sparked a lawsuit by Mendez and her family against Santa Clarita Alcoholics Anonymous, who alleged the organization helped conceal Earle’s violent past, according to a Courthouse News report.

Earle is being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bail.


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Murder Trial Begins For Saugus Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.