A 24-year-old Tri-Cities woman was chilled, wet and semiconscious when two men tried to get her inside an RV on a cold night in November.
When she refused, they gave her a blanket, and Joe Cruz Garza, 56, came out to check on her as she was lying in a fenced area behind a Pasco convenience store, according to court documents.
Outside temperatures had dropped into the 30s, but still Garza refused for hours to call 911, investigators said.
He later said he was afraid of being taken back to jail for violating a court order to stay away from Breanna Gooldy.
When Garza finally called for help hours later, Gooldy was wrapped in two “extremely” damp blankets and a curtain and her body temperature had dropped to near 70 degrees.
She was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, but she died 11 hours later.
More than two months after her death, Franklin County prosecutors have charged Garza with second-degree murder.
Garza and Gooldy had been in a relationship, but a court order in connection with an Oct. 17 conviction was intended to keep them apart.
Gooldy’s death is not listed as a homicide by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office but prosecutors now allege he is guilty of murder because he was violating a no-contact order when his actions led to her death.
But Garza’s defense attorney, Charlie Dow, argues there doesn’t appear to be any connection between his client’s actions and Gooldy’s death.
And he’s filed a motion to dismiss the protection order violation because prosecutors have failed to turn over evidence on time.
He complained to Superior Court Judge Diana Ruff that he didn’t get all the evidence from prosecutors until eight days before Garza’s trial was to begin.
Ruff agreed that was a problem and ordered the Franklin County prosecutor’s office to pay $1,000 in sanctions — $500 for failing to file a timely witness list and $500 for not providing the discovery.
Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the Tri-City Herald they plan to appeal Ruff’s ruling.
Ruff also released Garza from custody to avoid a problem with speedy trial rules.
Just days later, prosecutors charged Garza with murder.
Troubled relationship
Garza and Gooldy had a troubled relationship. And though Garza had been ordered to stay away from her, they did not stay apart.
He initially told police he hadn’t seen her since Oct. 19, but witnesses said Gooldy had been staying at the travel trailer behind the convenience store for several weeks leading up to death on Nov. 6.
A witness reported that two days before she died, Garza had hit Gooldy in the face at least twice, injuring her.
“Breanna was afraid of Joe and told [a witness that] Joe was mean and he was going to kill her,” according to an affidavit written by Pasco Detective Julie Lee.
On Nov. 5, Garza claims Gooldy was “tripping” inside his travel trailer. She began breaking things before crawling outside. He claims she hurt herself in the process.
He said he tried to get Gooldy to come back into the trailer but she fought him off.
Another man told police he tried to help Garza bring her inside but she kept stiffening her body and they couldn’t move her.
The men put a blanket over her and left her outside. Security camera footage shows Garza go outside several times between 1:30 a.m. and 6:20 a.m. on Nov. 6.
“He said he checked on her throughout the night and she responded to him by opening her eyes and moaning,” Lee wrote.
When she stopped responding and felt cold to the touch, he called 911.
“Breanna would not have been found by anyone else to get her the medical attention she needed,” Lee wrote. “Joe failed to be aware of the substantial risk of death that Breanna faced by being outside in the cold weather, wet and likely under the influence of narcotics.”
Charges and delays
After Gooldy was found, Garza was initially arrested for violating the protection order. He was booked into the jail in Pasco while police worked to determine how Gooldy died.
After an autopsy determined that her injuries didn’t lead to her death, Pasco police said they believed Garza should be charged with manslaughter.
Garza’s attorney had argued that Garza should be allowed to be released without bail pending the trial, saying that most of his convictions are old and involved nonviolent crimes.
His last felony was for drug possession in 2015, vehicle theft in 2010 and a 2008 sentence for drug possession.
Deputy Prosecutor Frank Jenny argued at the time that Garza had convictions for 69 crimes over the years. And he noted that judges have issued 65 warrants for him because he didn’t show up for hearings.