WOODLAND — Both the prosecution and the defense in the Rohail Sarwar murder trial rested their cases Monday, with jurors expected to begin deliberations after hearing closing arguments Tuesday morning in Yolo Superior Court.
Sarwar, 28, is accused of fatally stabbing Cottonwood Massage worker Junying Lu with a pocket knife on the evening of Aug. 21, 2018, after repeatedly being denied his demands for sexual favors at the Woodland business. Lu, 51, suffered a total of 14 stab wounds to her head and torso.
In addition to a murder count, Sarwar faces the special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and murder in the commission of a burglary, as well as multiple sexual-assault offenses.
Sarwar, who has pleaded not guilty to the allegations, exercised his right to remain silent Monday and declined to testify in his own defense. The defense case comprised a single witness who testified briefly on the subjects of landscapers and pocket knives.
Caught on security video purchasing a pocket knife at a liquor store shortly before the homicide, Sarwar has claimed to investigators he bought it for his work as a landscaper, but soon lost it. His boss, Israr Ahmad, testified last week that Sarwar wouldn’t have needed a knife, since Ahmad provides the tools and prefers scissors for cutting.
But defense witness Dwayne Jones, owner of a Woodland landscaping business, testified Monday that it’s “very common” for landscapers to carry pocket knives, and that “70 to 80 percent of the guys carry” them for work such as opening fertilizer bags or cutting drip irrigation or weed-eater lines.
Sure, other tools could be used for those tasks, but “knives in my opinion are quicker, because it’s right there,” Jones said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene