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Double murder defendant Tony Garcia dies pending trial

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Double murder defendant Tony Garcia, who was in a coma for seven months after being seriously injured in county jail last April, has died.

The 70-year-old man stopped breathing at the nursing facility where he was staying and was transferred to a Simi Valley hospital, where he was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon, his attorney Brandon Sua said.

Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Monica Smith confirmed that the Oxnard man died at the hospital but said she could not provide further details.

Garcia was charged early last year in the 1981 murders of two young women. The cases were dormant before a breakthrough in DNA analysis led to the arrest and prosecution, according to authorities. He had pleaded not guilty.

Garcia was accused of killing 20-year-old Rachel Zendejas of Camarillo and 21-year-old Lisa Gondek of Oxnard. His trial in Ventura County Superior Court had not yet begun when he fell unconscious after allegedly being attacked by another inmate.

Garcia was a resident of the skilled nursing facility and was not allowed to appear in court because of his condition. Doctors had recently concluded there was no hope of recovery, but prosecutors were waiting for medical records before deciding whether to dismiss the case.

A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 18 before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan to take up the matter. Garcia's lawyer requested a hearing last month on his request to compel prosecutors to release DNA records that he claimed could exonerate his client, but Malan continued with the matter based on Garcia's condition.

This story will be updated.

Kathleen Wilson covers courts, mental health and local government affairs for the Ventura County Star. You can reach them at 805-206-8805.

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