Son testifies against dad at trial; dad charged with murdering boy's mother (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Notice again how dad LUIS ALBERTO MONTERO "seemed normal." The one on trial for murdering this boy's mother--literally in front of him in his own bedroom. 

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bethlehem-mother-murder-children-20111024,0,2537540.story

Son testifies against father in Bethlehem killing of mom
By Riley Yates, Of The Morning Call
11:50 p.m. EDT, October 24, 2011

Eighteen-year-old Jose Montero was watching a movie in his south Bethlehem bedroom when he heard his parents arguing as his mother took a shower.

The sliding door slammed. His father's book bag unzipped. Then, gunshots.

In moments, Marjorie Reyes was in her son's room, closing the door behind her and dropping to the floor.

Luis Alberto Montero came in on her heels, continuing to fire three or four shots at her, then turning the gun on himself, Jose testified Monday at the courthouse in Easton.

"He looked at me and said, '[Expletive] it,' and he shot himself once," Jose said, recounting the night May 10 that his mother died at the hands of his father. "He fell to the floor and told me to finish him."

Instead, Jose said he told his father, "No," took the gun and led his 12-year-old brother outside of the house, calling police and waiting for officers to arrive.

After hearing testimony from the teen, a police investigator and the county's coroner, Senior District Judge Elmo Frey Jr. ruled enough evidence exists for Luis Montero to face a homicide charge in Northampton County Court.

Defense attorney Timothy Prendergast said he does not contest that Montero killed the mother of his three children. But Prendergast said it was a "crime of passion" that was not premeditated murder.

"This is manslaughter," he said. "This is at best [third-degree] murder."

Prosecutors are seeking a conviction for first-degree murder, but not the death penalty, said Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lewis Fallenstein. That means Montero would face life in prison without parole if convicted of that charge.

Jose Montero testified against his father in a matter-of-fact tone, his voice quiet and without tremors of emotion. But after the hearing, the aunt who is now raising him demonstrated the anger that lurked underneath.

"Listen you [expletive] piece of [expletive], don't write to the kids no more," Daisy Nastasi shouted to Luis Montero as he was led away by deputy sheriffs. "They [expletive] hate you … Rot in hell."

Investigators arriving at the home at 1501 E. Seventh St. found Reyes dead on the second floor, and Montero alive on the first, police said.

Reyes, 38, known as Margie, died of gunshot wounds to the chest and neck. Coroner Zachary Lysek said nine bullet casings were recovered.

Montero told police he was angry over "all the lies," and "all the cheating," said Lt. Mark DiLuzio.

"Was he remorseful?" Prendergast asked.

"I don't think so, but that's an opinion," DiLuzio said.

"But he was suicidal," Prendergast pointed out.

"That's an opinion too," DiLuzio said.

After the shooting, police found two notes, apparently written by the defendant to his children, according to court records. One, from the keyboard of Montero's work computer, said he had discovered their mother's old phone "and found out she had been cheating on me."

Reyes and Montero had been together for at least two decades, but police described their relationship as on-again, off-again. Montero worked in New Jersey during the week and stayed in Bethlehem on weekends, Jose Montero said.

The teen also said he had never heard his father threaten his mother, or be violent toward her before. He described his family life as "not perfect," but also not bad.

Before the shooting, he said, the family and three of his friends ate Chinese food together. His father, he said, "seemed normal."

Montero is being held without bail in Northampton County Prison.