It's been five years since Yara Perez was charged with killing her 3-year-old daughter Jacqueline Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was found stuffed inside a plastic bin, inside the trunk of her mother's car. She was beaten, had a busted intestine. Obvious signs of trauma.

It isn't too unusual for trials like this to take some time to actually go before a jury, but I'll even admit this one seemed like it took a little too long.

So going back to Day 1. Yara Perez has been out on bond, so she is free to roam around the courthouse.

The first witness on the stand was Detective Erik Messer, the detective who questioned Perez hours after Gonzalez's body was found.

Messer admitted he didn't give Perez her Miranda warnings until right before the taped interview at police headquarters, but said he spoke to her at the crime scene,

Messer said Perez begged him to bring her baby back, which he answered he couldn't. He admitted she cried a lot. However, after watching the taped interview, Messer said it didn't appear as though Perez was crying.
She was seen banging the walls and acting what he described as hysterical.

Perez's then boyfriend was also arrested charged with capital murder. Francisco Castaneda was found guilty and is serving a life sentence. His fingerprints were found on the plastic bin and the keys to the car in his pocket. His attorney tried convincing the jury that Castaneda didn't kill Jacqueline, if anything just tried to cover it up for Perez.

Messer testified that once Perez and Castaneda were being taken to jail, Perez begged Castaneda to tell the truth. Messer said it appeared Castaneda just shook his head in a "no" fashion. He said he also told her sorry for "Putting her through this."

Before the next witness could take the stand, there were concerns of how truthful she would be. Abigail Castaneda is the sister of Francisco.

Without the jury present, both sides asked Abigail questions. She said Perez told her she wanted to take her kids to the orphanage. The judge determined that couldn't be said before the jury, but that she could testify.

Abigail is the one who called 911. She said the night of Nov. 19, 2007, she was at work at a corner store. She said Perez called her crying, threatening to kill herself for what happened to the baby. Abigail admits she didn't really know what was going on. She said she called back and heard a scuffle for the phone between Perez and her brother. She said she called her manager and told her she had to leave.

Abigail said she went to Perez's apartment. Abigail said Perez wouldn't let her in and she even slapped her trying to get in, but that didn't work. Abigail said she saw Jacqueline lying on the floor, her eyes looking straight up and was wrapped in a blanket. Abigail said Perez got in her way so she couldn't see the little girl. She said Perez changed her story saying the little girl fell off a balcony, and then later said the bed.

Abigail said she kept asking if she called the ambulance, but said she never got a straight answer. She said she left and threatened to call 911 herself.

She said after she left, she kept calling and Perez who didn't answer. She said when she finally did, she was calm and much different from the earlier calls. She said Perez told her an ambulance was on its way.

Abigail said she went back to work where things still didn't seem right. She said she called her husband and went to pick him up, but on her way was stopped by a Border Patrol agent she described in 2007 as her boyfriend, but on the stand said was an acquaintance. She said she told him she had an emergency and had to leave.

She said she picked up her husband from McDonald's where he worked and they drover to her mom's house. After telling them what happened, she said they decided to go back to Perez's apartment.

It was at this time Abigail said she called 911. She admitted this was about three hours after she first saw Jacqueline's lifeless body.

The jury heard Abigail's 911 call. In it she frantically tells the dispatcher to send an ambulance and police, but told them not have sirens. She said she feared for her life and though the 3-year-old was dead.
When asked by the defense why she didn't call 911 earlier, she responded simply saying she didn't know what was going on.

Abigail said once police arrived, it appeared they were quickly ready to leave. She said she told them Jacqueline was still missing and that's when they continued the search.

CSI officer Martin Martinez took the stand next. He said he was a patrol officer at the time. He said they got a call to go to the apartment off Yarbrough in the lower valley because there might be a child not breathing. He said they banged on windows and the door, but no one answered. He said when they finally did he saw Perez lying in bed with a 5-year-old girl.

Martinez said Perez told her the 3-year-old was with her dad, and then changed her story to say she was with the grandparents. Martinez said he continued the search, throwing laundry out of a closet, then learned Jacqueline's body had been found.

Before the next witness took the stand, the defense asked to speak to the judge. Officer Juan Gonzalez, an 18-year veteran, was the one who found Jacqueline's body unknowingly. Defense attorney Joe Spencer brought up concerns that Gonzalez was emotional during Castaneda's trial and could possibly be during this trial, swaying the jury. The judge determined Gonzalez could testify.

In Day 2 of the trial, the state was expected to call more members of the El Paso Police Department and Fire Department, but instead it was the bailiff who took center stage.
He stood in front of both sides and told them Juror #2 had heard a sheriff deputy at the security checkpoint on the first floor say "Perez shouldn't get away with this." He said that juror then went to the courtroom where she told other jurors what she had been told.

The defense said that could sway the jury and asked for a mistrial. The judge decided to speak to all the jurors individually and decide if they were indeed tainted. After about an hour, she decided that Perez could not get a fair trial and called it a mistrial.

Both sides worked quick to try to get the trial moved to as early as tomorrow, but that was not possible. The trial has been re-scheduled for Oct. 19.

In cases like this, the death penalty is an option, but the District Attorney's office said they are not seeking it. That means Perez faces up to life in prison.

Spencer said Perez has moved on with her life and has a family, but wants to put this behind her. He said even when she goes out Gonzalez's family assaults her. He said Perez is a victim of Castaneda's abuse, and should have called 911 earlier, but is not a murderer.