An Alpine man was ordered Nov. 20 to stand trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Melanie Benitez, who was shot seven times on Feb. 23.
Paul Alan Paraschak, 43, laid his head down on the defense table during most of the preliminary hearing while the family members of Benitez were in the audience hearing difficult testimony of her death.
Several family members wore colorful T-shirts that said “in loving memory” of Benitez, 27, who was pictured and noted her nickname of “Ling Ling.”
The couple lived together in Alpine. The hearing was before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Patricia Cookson.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Lees let the victim’s family members know when crime scene photos of their loved one were about to be shown in court so they could have the option of leaving the hearing and returning later.
Benitez worked as a certified nursing assistant at Victoria Post Acute Care in El Cajon. A co-worker, Andrea Carpio, testified she got a call from Benitez saying was on her way to work on February 23 before a shift change.
She never arrived. Instead her body was found outside Paraschak’s white Lincoln parked in the driveway in the 2800 block of North Victoria Drive. They did not know who lived there, but people nearby heard a loud argument before gunshots erupted.
A neighbor heard “two people screaming at each other,” said sheriff’s deputy Anthony Pratola, who added the neighbor said the man sounded “very angry.”
The neighbor heard two shots and a pause, then three more shots, said Pratola.
“What about me? What about me? No one cares about me!” said Paraschak, according to the neighbor.
The neighbor told Pratola that she heard the man chanting something about the “U.S. Air Force” as he walked away in the middle of the street.
Hilda Martinez, a woman who was cleaning a neighbor’s house on North Victoria Drive, testified she heard the screaming and saw Paraschak holding a grey or black gun.
“I saw the lady who was dead,” said Martinez. “I got scared.”
“Call the police. I don’t care if I’m arrested,” said Paraschak, recalled Martinez.
Sheriff’s deputy Kenny Alegria-Rodriguez testified Paraschak was yelling incoherently, but did follow commands to lay prone on the ground before his arrest. Paraschak cried during his arrest, he said.
Deputy Matthew Addenbrooke testified he arrested Paraschak and found a pistol in a holster and a revolver was found in his jacket on the ground
A sheriff’s criminalist, Stephen Lu, testified he examined microscopic marks on bullets and found they were fired from a revolver that was in Paraschak’s possession.
Sheriff’s detective Rosa Patron testified she attended the autopsy by the county medical examiner’s office. She said the cause of death was multiple gunshots to the head and torso.
Benitez was wearing a nurse’s shirt. Three wounds were to her torso and at least two bullets were recovered from her head, said Patron.
At least one shot to the head was a contact wound in which the gun was fired at close range, said Patron.
Attorneys submitted to the case without arguments to Cookson, and she ordered him to stand trial for murder.
Paraschak will next appear in court on Dec. 4 when a trial date will be set. He has pleaded not guilty.
Paraschak told a Fox 5 News reporter that he was intoxicated with alcohol and marijuana at the time of the shooting.
He remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.
His attorney voiced a doubt that Paraschak was mentally competent in April, so a psychological evaluation was done. A judge ruled on Aug. 26 that he was mentally fit to understand court proceedings.
