Irvin Ramirez Guilty of Murder



A jury has found 25-year-old Irvin Ramirez guilty of the murder of Danielle Gorectke.

It took the jury of six women and six men about two and a half hours to reach a verdict. They found Ramirez guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of attempted second-degree sexual assault, and not guilty of robbery.

Ramirez stood trial for the murder of the 23-year-old UW-Stevens Point student in La Crosse January 21. Gorectke was in La Crosse celebrating her sister's birthday. She was found dead at Christ Covenant Church in La Crosse.

During the prosecution's closing arguments Friday morning, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said the story Ramirez told about the night Gorectke died is "ridiculous." Gruenke says Ramirez took Gorectke to Christ Covenant Church on County Road B because it is isolated, and then attacked her after she ran to the steps of the church.

Ramirez testified Thursday he found Gorectke near downtown La Crosse already assaulted. He tried to help her, but eventually left her after he panicked. Gruenke says his story doesn't match the evidence. "His story didn't explain her fingerprints in his car, on the inside of the window," Gruenke said. "It didn't explain the blood on the blue jeans. It didn't explain his DNA on her upper lip."

Defense attorney Ronald Benavides spoke for about 50 minutes during his closing arguments. Benavides said Gorectke died brutally, but that doesn't mean Ramirez is to blame. He says there were no witnesses to the beating, and no evidence of sexual assault, like semen. Benavides says if Ramirez beat Gorectke, his hands should have been more badly injured, and no blunt objects that could have been used for beating her have not been found. Benavides says if Gorectke was beaten so severely that she was paralyzed, why wouldn't have Ramirez sexually assaulted her. Benavides also says there simply was not enough time for Ramirez to inflict 25 serious injuries on Gorectke.

Benavides says Ramirez's decision to leave and injured Gorectke in downtown La Crosse, where he says he found her, was stupid, but Benavides says Ramirez was drunk at the time, and was worried about his status as an illegal immigrant. Benavides says Ramirez admits to lying to police initially about meeting Gorectke, but he has sincerely apologized and told the truth.

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Guilty of murder, and also an illegal immigrant. This man is full of lies, like where he said that he was drinking, and he didn't want to take her to the hospital because he was worried about his status as an illegal immigrant. This guy's pathedic. At least they got another person guilty of murder, that is one less person off the sidewalks, the streets, the alleys, wherever that are hurting, and killing people. Tell me what you think!