DALLAS — On Oct. 22, 2022, shots rang through the maternity ward of Methodist Hospital in Dallas.
Jacqueline Pokuaa, a 45-year-old social worker, was shot and killed.
Annette Flowers, a 63-year-old nurse, was also shot and killed.
The accused shooter was Nestor Hernandez, 31, whose capital murder trial began in Dallas on Tuesday after twelve jurors were selected on Monday.
If Hernandez is found guilty of capital murder, the charge would be punishable by life in prison without parole. Prosecutors opted not to pursue the death penalty.
Here's our coverage from court.
Day 1:
Opening statements went by quickly, and the prosecutor began calling witnesses.
Pokuaa's brother and Flowers' daughter took the stand for a few minutes each. The victims were both mothers, and the courtroom benches were filled with their loved ones.
Selena Villatoro, 26, was the third person to testify. She described the defendant as her baby's father and her on-and-off boyfriend since 2014. That Saturday in 2022, her child was just born the day before, and Hernandez entered the hospital. Villatoro said, "When he came in, he had a beer in his hand."
She said Hernandez initially seemed happy to be a new father, but she was upset about his drinking. At some point, he started making threats, Villatoro said. She testified that he whipped her in the head multiple times with a gun. Images of her bruises were shown in court.
"He was saying that whoever walked into the room was going to die with us," Villatoro said. "He was saying that we were going to make the news, saying that we were going to pretty much die, and he was going to take whoever walked into the room."
Pokuaa was the first person to walk into the room.
"She was looking at her clipboard," Villatoro said.
She said Hernandez stood up as if he was going to use the restroom, walked past Pokuaa, then shot once from behind.
Villatoro said Hernandez reloaded his handgun. She testified that she remembered that he walked toward the door and opened it. Flowers was then shot before Methodist Sgt. Robert Rangel returned fire, injuring the defendant.
"He killed the lady in front of me, the nurse in front of me. There was too much blood, a lot going on," Villatoro said.
She said she asked the officer not to kill Hernandez.
Another witness who testified on Tuesday was Stacey Smith. She was the charge nurse that day in October 2022. Smith knew both of the victims. She knew Pokuaa for a few months, but had known Flowers for twelve years.
"We were coworkers, but we were also friends," said Smith. "We shared things about our families."
Smith was in a room down the hall with another patient when she heard a pop.
"When I got into the room, I was closing the door and I heard a pop," Smith said. "And I told the patient who I was with I think that's one of the 'Caution Wet Floor' signs. It sounds like it may have fallen over. And as I am closing the door, I started hearing screams."
She described going into the hallway and seeing Hernandez standing in the doorway of room six.
"He is pointing a gun like this," Smith gestured. "He is just looking and shooting."
She saw Flowers in his line of fire, but didn't see her get injured.
Smith recalled the suspect's expression.
"He looked at me," she said. "Just with a smirk on his face."
She rushed back in the room, shut the door, and locked herself in the bathroom with her patients.
In the afternoon, Methodist Police Sgt. Robert Rangel took the stand. That day, he was already on the postpartum floor for another call when he heard the first shot. He said he headed toward the room when he heard two more shots.
"I glanced real quick at the nurse. I saw some blood around her neck, and she was holding her neck," said Rangel. That nurse was Annette Flowers.
He knew he had no back-up officers in that moment. "I told myself I'm the only one up here right now," Rangel remembered as he drew his weapon. "I told myself if he came out with a pistol, I only had one option and that was to make sure that he didn't get out past the room with a gun."
"He was looking out of the room. He had the pistol, and I fired one time at his leg," the sergeant said. He said Hernandez jumped back into the room, where there was a lot of screaming.
Rangel has been called a hero for stopping the shooter.
More responding officers testified in Hernandez's trial on Tuesday.
Body camera video was also shown in the courtroom.
Day 2
The second day of Nestor Hernandez's trial continued on Wednesday morning at 9:00.
The first person to testify was a crime scene investigator with the Dallas Police Department.
Then, Haley Young, a civilian crime scene analyst with the Dallas Police Department took the stand. She opened evidence, revealing the gun used during the shooting. The can of beer that Hernandez was holding on his way into the hospital was also revealed to the jury.
Toxicology Chemist Heidi Christensen with the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences (SWIFS) said a drug screening was performed on Hernandez. Ketamine, benzodiazepines, lidocaine, norketamine, nausea medication, muscle relaxers, amphetamines and methamphetamine were found in the results.
It is unclear of how he took these drugs, or when it entered his system. Christensen confirmed many of them can be given in a hospital setting.
More scientific experts testified on Wednesday.
Dr. Travis Danielsen, a Dallas County Medical Examiner, performed the autopsy for Jacqueline Pokuaa. He said she was shot in the back of her head, and her injuries were not survivable. Dr. Danielsen also said her death was not instantaneous. "She appeared to be relatively healthy," said Dr. Danielsen. "The manner of death is homicide, the death of a person caused by the actions of another person."
Dr. Stephen Hastings, another a Dallas County Medical Examiner, performed the autopsy for Annette Flowers. He confirmed she suffered one gunshot wound on the left side of her face. He said the bullet injured multiple important structures, including her right carotid artery. "That's a very, very serious injury that is rapidly lethal," said Dr. Hastings. "This is the type of injury that has very low survivability."
During Flowers' autopsy, Dr. Hastings determined, "She had a plethora of therapeutic interventions that the hospital tried to do to save her life." From a breathing tube to IVs and surgical interventions, multiple steps were taken by Flowers' coworkers after she was shot.
Dr. Hastings also commented on the impact methamphetamine can have on a person. He said, "Speaking as to the behavior of people in general, people can become anxious, have rapid changes in mood, can develop psychosis, where they lose touch with reality and can sometimes become violent and even attack other people or kill other people in some instances."
The state rested their case around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Check back for more updates.
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