A 12-person jury heard opening statements from attorneys Tuesday morning in the murder trial in Washington County Common Pleas Court against Oscar Hernandez Diaz, accused of killing 23 year-old Abraham Olvero.

Oscar Hernandez Diaz, 42, and his brother Isaac Hernandez Diaz, 35, both of 300-A Dale St., Marietta, were arrested and charged in May 2022 with the murder of Olvero. Isaac Diaz took a plea deal in February and pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault for his involvement with the murder of Olvero.

“You are just at the beginning of the race,” Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Coil advised the jury of the length of the trial. “This case contains the tragic and young loss of life.”

Coil said that the Hernandez Diaz brothers and the Olvero family worked together and socialized together and that it was like “one big family, there were no big problems.” Both families worked for Greenleaf Landscaping on guest work visas.

“Some of them worked on Saturday, some of them didn’t, but they all ended up drinking beer together in the parking lot in front of the apartments together,” said Coil. “Oscar (Hernandez Diaz) and Axel (Olvero) were talking about unfairness and inequality between the workers which turned into a verbal argument between the two.”

She said Axel Olvero went back to his apartment and decided it would be best if he went back out and apologized to Oscar Hernandez Diaz. When Axel Olvero went out to apologize, their previous verbal argument turned into a physical argument.

“Their verbal argument was a catalyst for the problems that followed,” Coil said. “You (the jury) will be able to walk the distance between the apartments and will be hearing statements from the victim’s father, brother, and the Salas brothers, who were there to diffuse the physical argument.”

Coil also advised the jury that they would also be seeing photos of the apartment from that night as well as testimony from officers that were dispatched to the scene and the neighbor that made the 911 call.

The prosecution believes that Oscar Hernandez Diaz committed the murder of Abraham Olvero involuntarily.

“You’re sitting in your living room, your brother has been stabbed, you see who did it, the police ask you who did this, what do you say to them,” Assistant Defense Attorney Hailey Murdock questioned the jury in her opening statement. “At the end of the day, family is all you have.”

Murdock advised the jury that they would be able to go to the scene and visualize what happened that night in May 2022. She said that due to Oscar and Axel’s physical argument in the parking lot, there were several pools of blood in the parking lot. This would also be very apparent within the victim’s apartment.

She also informed them of the DNA done after the incident. Murdock stated that most of the blood tested belonged to Isaac Hernandez Diaz and not that of Abraham Olvero or Oscar Hernandez Diaz. She noted that the handle of the murder was not tested during the eight rounds of DNA testing.

“Isaac was going to protect, defend, and avenge his brother,” said Murdock. “The defense asks you (the jury) for a not guilty verdict.”

After the opening statements, the jury was taken to the Dale Street Apartments where the incident occurred. Judge Mark Kerenyi advised the jury that conditions may have changed at the location since the time of the murder.

Once the jury returned from the jury view of the scene, the state called several witnesses to the stand.

Their first witness, Jordan Atha, was a neighbor of Oscar and Isaac Hernandez Diaz. Atha gifted Isaac Hernandez Diaz the sword that was used in the murder of Abraham Olvero a week before the incident took place. Atha also confirmed that that was the only time he ever spoke to one of the Hernandez Diaz brothers.

“I gifted him the sword because he liked it,” Atha said. “I collect swords like that, so I gave him that one.”

The prosecution also called Tony Roach, the 911 dispatcher that answered Kathleen Harper’s 911 call.

The 911 call was played for the court and jury, and Roach confirmed the details pertaining to that call and confirmed dispatching two units to the scene and calling for an interpreter, Marietta College Spanish Professor Richard Danford.

Harper, the third witness, took the stand to confirm her story of the fateful night in May.

“I was out with my friend when I returned home that night and there were 10 to 15 Mexican men standing in the parking lot drinking and throwing bottles,” said Harper. “They were yelling something like ‘Americanas’ and I thought they were yelling at me, so my friend advised me to get in my apartment and lock my door.”

Harper proceeded to tearfully tell the court and jury that she ended up calling 911 because she could hear glass breaking and yelling and moaning which made her fear for her life.

“I was scared that something bad was happening,” Harper said. “I thought they were coming after me after what they were yelling in the parking lot.”

Harper concluded by stating that her statement was taken by a detective, she ended up cleaning glass outside of her apartment the next day and saw various pools of blood, and confirmed that she saw Isaac Hernandez Diaz carrying a 4-by-4 block of wood that night of the incident.

The last two of the witnesses called Tuesday were Adam Wootton and David Ross of the Marietta Fire Department.

Wootton and Ross both responded to the dispatch by Marietta Police Department the night of May 21, 2022. Wootton noted that it was a “chaotic scene” and that in his opinion he “did not feel safe in that moment” resulting in him and other first responders transporting Abraham Olvero from the scene. He also stated that the cause of the injury resulted from a “fixed blade object.” Both Wootton and Ross confirmed that the victim’s condition never changed and that a steady pulse was never found.

“We provided the highest level of care possible,” said Wootton. “But in my opinion, the patient’s status never changed.”

“We perform life saving measures to give the patient the best outcome,” Ross said. “We never found a pulse or obtained one.”

Ross was part of the team that went back to the scene to administer aid to Oscar and Isaac Hernandez Diaz due to lacerations on their hands. He confirmed that he suggested Oscar Hernandez Diaz go to the hospital, but Oscar refused and signed a Refusal of Service Form.

Testimony will continue at 9 a.m. today.