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- BBC News World
image source, Miami Dade Police
Lyle has remained in Miami awaiting trial and without the possibility of returning to Mexico.
A jury in Miami on Tuesday found Mexican actor Pablo Lyle guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 63-year-old man.
The case dates back to 2019, when the actor ownit a punch during a traffic altercation Juan Ricardo Hernández, who died days later due to head trauma.
The actor, known for his participation in soap operas such as “Adorable curse”, might face a judgment up to 15 years prison. A judge will have to dictate his resolution at a later hearing.
The jury was made up of 6 people and reached the verdict following a day of deliberations.
The defense of the actor, who did not exercise his right to testify at the final arguments hearing, maintained that Lyle acted to protect himself and requested dismissal of the case under the law of self-defense of the state of Florida.
But the prosecutor Gabriela Alfaro convinced the members of the jury.
In his final arguments, he repeated the words that Hernández would have said before falling to the ground to death: “Please, do not hurt me”.
Reactions at trial
The end of the trial, which began on September 20, had extensive coverage in the US Spanish-language media, which broadcast Tuesday’s hearing live.
Dressed in a blue suit, Lyle remained serious as he listened to the guilty verdict and Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez order his arrest.
The actor had remained under house arrest until Tuesday.
Before being handcuffed and taken to prison, he said goodbye to his wife, Ana Araujoand other relatives with kisses and hugs.
Mercedes Arce, the fiancee of Juan Ricardo Hernández, broke down in tears upon hearing the verdict. Several relatives of the deceased were present at the hearing.
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Alfaro said Monday that what happened was not a soap opera scene, but something real.
He stated that the day of the altercation Lyle felt anger and that he was not in a position to defend himself or his family.
“That blow that Mr. Lyle gave him caused the victim to fall backwards to hit his head and open his skull, injuries that caused his death,” said the prosecutor.
But Lyle’s wife testified during the trial that she and her children sinthey felt fear of Hernandez:
“He was beeping at us very loudly all the way, until we stopped and I began to hear a man yelling and insulting.”
The coroner testified that Hernández suffered a hemorrhage in the front and back of the head, as a result of the blow Lyle gave him and the fall following losing his balance.
What happened the day of the altercation?
On March 31, 2019, Pablo Lyle finished a 10-day vacation in Miami and was heading to the airport with his family in a car driven by his brother in lawLucas Delfino.
Parallel, Juan Ricardo Hernandeza 63-year-old Cuban, was driving his vehicle along the same avenue in North Miami when Delfino apparently took a wrong exit and blocked his way, getting into his lane and leaving his car in front of him.
Taking advantage of a red light, Hernándéz got out of his vehicle and went to rebuke Delfino. He got out of the car to argue with Hernandez, but his vehicle began to roll toward the intersection of the street, so he ran to get back in to stop him.
image source, Getty Images
The actor is recognized for his participation in telenovelas such as “Zip Code” or “My Adorable Curse.”
Hernandez then walked back to his car, but Pablo Lyle, who was co-driver with Delfino, got out of the car and ran to where the man was.
He punched him in the face and went back to his car. Hernandez fell to the floor and the car driven by Delfino continued on its way.
Four days following the incident, Hernandez died in a hospital from head trauma.
What evidence was there?
The most notorious evidence was a videocaptured by a security camera at a gas station located in front of the traffic light where the events occurred.
In the video you can see what happened and that is why it is possible to describe in detail the chronology of the incident.
The prosecution subpoenaed a witness who was inside his car at the same intersection.
He stated that he saw Pablo Lyle “running with aggression and clenched fists.”
The witness stated that Lyle hit Hernandez following he “raised his hands to protect himself and yelled in Spanish, ‘No, no, please don’t hit me.'”
The defense, for its part, has alleged certain inconsistencies in the witness’s account.
image source, Getty Images
Pablo Lyle in Mexico days following the incident and before he had to return to Miami to face justice.
The actor’s defense
According to the arrest record, Lyle stated that Hernández raised his hands when he approached him, so his reaction was due to the fact that “he believed that the victim was going to attack him first” and acted in self-defense.
During the actor’s first intervention in the trial, he stated that when he was in the car he heard a loud bang on the vehicle’s window and Hernández shouting insults: “Are you crazy, are you an idiot, stupid?”, so that everyone in the car jumped in surprise, “it was something unexpected” and I was “really scared”stado”.
He recounted how the situation worsened when Delfino got out of the car. That is why he also tried to get out to “avoid or do something, because my family was there”, but the car began to roll towards the intersection.
He recounted, in a broken voice, how he tried to stop the car without success in the midst of panic and thinking that “I was going to lose my family.”
The main argument of the defense was that the actor defended himself instinctively and protected his family what he considered a violent attack.
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