KENNER, La. — For the second time, a Jefferson Parish jury found Viusqui Perez-Espinosa guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s new lover, Ives Alexis Portales-Lara, dismembering his body, and disposing of the body parts in a St. John the Baptist swamp back in 2016.
Perez-Espinosa, 45, was first convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years for the death of Portales-Lara at his 2018 trial.
However, in April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional in the court’s Ramos vs. Louisiana decision.
As a result, Louisiana’s 5th Circuit Court of Appeal ordered that Perez-Espinosa be retried for the second-degree murder of Portales-Lara.
In his trial, prosecutors retold the story of how Perez-Espinosa and Portales-Lara, 28, were friends and co-workers who were romantically involved with the same woman but at different times.
“Perez was first involved with the woman before their 18-month relationship ended in September 2016. Portales-Lara’s secret relationship with her began soon after he moved into the Baylor Place apartment with her,” Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr. said in an official release on Thursday.
Connick says Perez-Espinosa wanted to rekindle the relationship and wanted Portales out of the picture. Three days before the murder, Perez-Espinosa moved in with Portales-Lara and the woman. He offered Portales-Lara money to move out but he refused the offer.
“On the morning of Nov. 11, 2016, Perez sexually assaulted the woman after Portales left for work. Portales was last seen alive that afternoon when he returned to the apartment from his job,” the D.A. says.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the disappearance, but investigators found evidence that quickly turned it into a murder investigation and led police to arrest Perez-Espinosa and ultimately his first conviction for the murder.
At his retrial, the jury returned with a guilty verdict following a 7-day-long retrial. Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Perez on Feb. 9.
