By Karenlyn Barone
Nelson Zuniga, 21, was found guilty on two counts of second- degree murder, two counts of first -degree attempted robbery and four counts of first-degree robbery. When the first guilty plea was read, Battaglia's widow Caryn sobbed and whispered, "Yes! They got him!"
The trial of Zuniga, one of five people accused of robbing and murdering Battaglia, 37, who was on his way home from the Lynbrook LIRR station on Sept. 18, 2003, played out in the Nassau County Courtroom of Judge Jerald Carter this past week. While the other four defendants pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime, Zuniga chose not to take the plea offered by Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh, which was a sentence of 20 years to life if he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and robbery.
Zuniga opted for a trial, and now faces 75 years to life. At the onset of the trial, Carter said he would sentence Zuniga to consecutive sentences if he is found guilty on all charges. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16.
Zuniga, along with Omar Delarosa, 19, Janny Paez, 21, Fernando Moronta, 21, and Marina Musso, 22, have been jailed since their arrest on Feb. 5, 2004, for the murder.
Inside the courtroom
The jury, made up of seven men and five women, heard Moronta's sobering testimony on Monday. Moronta took the witness stand and immediately smiled, shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows at the defendant. He then testified that he, Paez, Delarosa, Musso and Zuniga went on a robbery spree on the nights of Sept. 17 and 18. Moronta said that with Musso driving a gray Nissan Xtera SUV, the group traveled to Long Beach from their Freeport homes and assaulted a man the first night.
"I didn't have nothing. Janny didn't have nothing. Omar had a knife, like a dagger, and Nelson had a gun," said Moronta. "Nelson and Omar approached him. Omar pulled out the knife and Nelson pulled out the gun." Moronta testified that the victim said he had no money, and Zuniga hit him with the gun and took his cell phone. He said the four then ran a few blocks to the waiting car, which Musso never left, and fled the area.
Under questioning from Walsh, Moronta said that when the group met the following evening, Sept. 18, their intention was "doing the same thing we did the day before - rob people."
That evening, Moronta said, Musso drove them to Rockville Centre, where they encountered "two Spanish males, who had no money." A short time later the group spotted a male and female walking down a block together. "Omar pulled out the knife and Nelson pulled out the gun," Moronta testified. "They told the people to give them their money. The guy said he didn't have nothing on him and the woman started to scream."
According to Moronta, who is a cousin of Paez and Delarosa, "Nelson hit the guy with the gun and Omar held the knife up to the female."
The male victim had taken the witness stand at the beginning of the trial and recounted the same details for the jury.
Deadly encounter
It was after they discovered that the man's wallet had only $2 in it that the group drove to Lynbrook, Moronta said. There they encountered a man whom Moronta described as "tall, long hair, glasses and skinny."
The man was Anthony Battaglia, a mechanical engineer who worked in Manhattan. He was walking home from the Lynbrook train station after a late dinner with his partner and a client.
On the witness stand last week, Battaglia's widow, Caryn, gave heart-wrenching testimony about how she heard voices and a popping sound as she lay in bed, waiting for her husband to get home. She said she didn't think much of it when she heard her husband's footsteps by the back door a few moments later, but when he hadn't come to bed almost a half hour after that, she went downstairs to look for him.
Moronta testified that the robbers confronted Battaglia only yards from his house, and when he resisted, they struggled with him. "He punched Omar and he punched Nelson," said Moronta. "Then the victim fell and alarms started going off." He was referring to the car alarm of a vehicle parked on the street near where the struggle was taking place.
As Caryn Battaglia wiped away tears, Moronta said, "The victim got back up, and then I saw Omar swing at him two times with the knife. I saw Omar stab the man twice. Omar started running and the victim was running after us and then I heard the gun go off. I turned around and saw Nelson with his arm raised out with the gun."
Once they were back in the car, Moronta said, "Omar wiped the knife off with a napkin. He wiped the blood off."
Caryn Battaglia testified that she looked out the back door and saw her husband. "On his shirt there was blood," she said. "I grabbed his hand and I said his name and his hand was cold."
Following her testimony, Walsh showed the jury photographs of Battaglia lying in a blood-soaked shirt between the screen door and his back door. His house keys were inches away from his fingertips. It wasn't until a few days later that the robbers learned that their victim had died.
Musso also took the witness stand, and told the courtroom, under cross-examination, that she was testifying as part of a plea agreement. She is currently serving eight years in prison for driving the getaway car. She also admitted that she, Zuniga, and the three others went on the robbery spree to get money for drugs. She said Zuniga had admitted to robbing and shooting Battaglia.
Defendant's confession
On Monday, the courtroom was hushed and Zuniga sat with his head on a courtroom table, watching in silence, as his videotaped confession was played. It was made on Feb. 5, 2004, the night after the five were arrested.
Zuniga's defense attorney, Christopher Renfroe of Forest Hills, said in closing arguments on Tuesday that his client's words were recorded by Fred Klein, supervisor of the district attorney's Major Offense Bureau, after a long night of questioning by police. Renfroe also said that Zuniga first told police that he knew nothing of the crimes, and then confessed later in the evening, after intense questioning and little sleep. Renfroe, who raised few points and minimal objections during the trial, called no witnesses. In his summation, he told the jury that the witnesses were not credible, and that jury members should take into consideration that the witnesses "have been given consideration for their testimony."
In his closing arguments, Walsh pointed to the defendant and said, "At a very minimum, this man is guilty of felony murder. He shot a man who was already beaten and stabbed. He eliminated him. The evidence is overwhelming. This case is everyone's worst nightmare." Zuniga showed no emotion when the verdict was read.
"There's no doubt he was guilty," said Caryn. "Thank God the jury saw it that way."
Mike Schnitzel contributed to this story. Comments about this story? Kbarone@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 Ext 202
