A man facing murder charges in his girlfriend’s death pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
Martin Huey, 22, is being held on a $1 million bond, accused of choking Angelica Gregory, 22, to death.
During Huey’s Friday arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Ted Minahan said Huey and Gregory had been dating on and off for about two years.
On Monday, the suspect went over to Gregory’s Bay Terraces apartment, where they got into a fight.
Huey allegedly hit Gregory twice in the face and put her in a deadly chokehold until she passed out.
Instead of dialing 911, Huey then called his aunt, who came over roughly 20 minutes later and called police, according to Minahan.
Local
Officers told the prosecutor that they found Gregory on her back with swelling in her eye and a cut on her left cheek.
In an initial interview, Huey told police he had found the victim at her apartment already dead and blamed another man, Minahan said.
However in subsequent interviews, he changed his story, according to police. They said he eventually admitted to punching and choking Gregory because he said she was getting a knife
Minahan told the judge no knife was found near the victim or anywhere accessible in the kitchen.
Huey was arrested Wednesday in Riverside County on domestic violence charges, but those charges were changed to murder on Thursday.
