Twelve years after his arrest, a trial began Thursday for a North Miami Beach man who allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death and went on the run.
Abraham Mpaka is accused of stabbing and killing his girlfriend Coty Paul. Jurors heard opening statements and testimonies from police officers who were working on Dec. 26, 2008, when Paul was found dead.
According to police, Paul was hanging out with her best friend and neighbor Christiane Charles when Mpaka went into Charles’s apartment and fatally stabbed his girlfriend in the chest.
Mpaka became a suspect because Charles told police she saw him do it.
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The FBI launched a nationwide hunt for Mpaka and reached out to the reality TV show "America’s Most Wanted" for help.
In 2011, Mpaka was arrested in Minnesota.
On Thursday, the State Attorney’s Office said this murder was because of anger and jealousy. He allegedly bought the knife used in the murder at Walmart.
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“She had a 2-inch stab wound to her chest. Went through her heart. Down into her stomach, she bled out,” said Shawn Abuhoff, an assistant state attorney.
However, Mpaka said Charles had bad and blurry vision and that he was mistaken for someone else.
“There is no forensic evidence in this case in the form of DNA or latent fingerprints that tie me to Coty Paul or the crime scene,” Mpaka told the jury.
Mpaka is forced to wear a leg brace during the trial to prevent him from fleeing the courtroom. He has repeatedly decided to represent himself, but an attorney is on standby if he changes his mind.
The trial continues Friday.
