Trial Begins in Park Death

A man accused of murder for fatally choking another man during a sexual encounter in Buena Vista Park in 2011 is "a sweet kid" who was involved in "a terrible accident," his attorney said this week as the trial in the killing opened.

But a prosecutor described David Munoz Diaz, 25, as a liar who intentionally killed Freddy Canul-Arguello, 23. Canul-Arguello's mostly-naked, partially burned body was found in the park just before 5 a.m. June 10, 2011.

During opening statements in San Francisco Superior Court Monday, July 28, Deputy Public Defender Alex Lilien told jurors that Diaz and Canul-Arguello had had sex before.

Lilien said the two men hooked up the last time after seeing each other in the Castro hours before Canul-Arguello died. Canul-Arguello was living with his brother and cousin, and Diaz was living with Larry Metzger, owner of the Castro's Mix bar, so they walked to Buena Vista Park.

Once they got there, they stopped at different spots and performed oral sex and other acts on each other before coming to an area down the hill from the park's tennis courts. The men kissed and touched, and Canul-Arguello told Diaz, "Fuck me, I want to cum," Lilien said, but Diaz declined because they didn't have condoms.

Eventually, Canul-Arguello said he liked to be choked and showed Diaz how to do it. Diaz choked him and Canul-Arguello continued touching him.

However, after a couple minutes, Diaz noticed that Canul-Arguello had stopped. When he let go, Canul-Arguello fell to the ground. Diaz took his pulse and did chest compressions, to no avail, Lilien said.

"He's confused and he's frightened and he knows he needs to do something," and Diaz thought Canul-Arguello was dead, Lilien said. Diaz smoked a cigarette, then grabbed a recycling bin from up the hill, rolled it to a spot near Canul-Arguello, and lit a fire in the container to signal for help.

He pulled a fire alarm and made calls to 911, but didn't go to meet responders when they finally arrived. Lilien referred to a call that was also detailed by Assistant District Attorney Danielle Douglas in her opening statements Monday.

In one of the first 911 calls from Canul-Arguello's phone, according to Douglas, Diaz said, "I killed someone and if you want to know who's next ... ." He gave his own phone number and said, "Those fucking faggots, they should have never been born. If you want to do something, you better pay attention."

Diaz had then called from his own phone and said a "mysterious" person had called him and said they'd "killed a gay person" and told Diaz that he was "next."

Douglas said the case is about "Lies, lies, and more lies."

Among other problems, she said, Diaz had told police that he'd hung out with Canul-Arguello in the Castro but had walked off after.

He "didn't say I went to the park with Freddy," or that he choked Canul-Arguello or set him on fire, Douglas said of a conversation Diaz had with police. Instead, she said, he'd told homicide Inspector Daniel Dedet that Canul-Arguello had fought with another man, and Diaz had called Dedet "four to six times" with supposed leads. Police arrested Diaz about six weeks after Canul-Arguello's death.

Douglas also said acting Chief Medical Examiner Amy Hart would testify that Canul-Arguello had suffered three fractures to his cricoid cartilage, which would have taken "a significant amount of force." Hart would also say Diaz would have had to choke Canul-Arguello for several minutes for him to die, Douglas said. The medical examiner's office listed the cause of death as asphyxia due to strangulation.

A firefighter who had responded to the scene had seen Canul-Arguello's legs sticking out of the bin and had pulled the container off the body, which was on fire, Douglas said.

Diaz, who's been in custody since his arrest, wore a black suit in court and listened to the proceedings through a Spanish interpreter. The trial is expected to continue into August.