In the opening statements for the second degree murder trial of Gilberto Nunez, attorneys on both sides agreed that Nunez had an affair with the wife of Thomas Kolman – but they disagreed on whether that affair led to murder.
"It was an obsession furthered by manipulation and deception," said Orange County Senior Assistant District Attorney Maryellen Albanese.
"Whatever happened to Thomas Kolman, Gilberto Nunez had nothing to do with it," defense attorney Gerald Shargel said.
The prosecution says Nunez was consumed with jealousy when he heard that Kolman’s wife planned to stay with her husband. And that Nunez made Kolman take a drug which killed him in 2011.
"A conscious sedative that slows your respirations is a drug not available over the counter or by prescription to an individual," Albanese said.
But the defense says that Kolman and Nunez were friends. They say Kolman knew about the affair and there was no bad blood between them. The defense went on to say that the drug couldn’t have caused Kolman’s death.
"The Midazolam that was found was an amount that was too small, too infinitesimal, to cause anyone’s death," Shargel said.
The prosecution also says the death happened in the parking lot of Planet Fitness in the town of Ulster, and that Nunez’s car was next to Kolman’s the night Kolman died.
"After that half hour, the first car drove away," Albanese said. "Thomas Kolman’s car stayed there, and it stayed there for hours."
"He was not at that parking lot on the 29th of November 2011," Shargel countered.
The trial picks back up at 9:30 in the morning. It’s expected to last up to four weeks. If Nunez is convicted, he could spend up to 25 years to life in prison.