Prosecutors say San Diego Police Department failed murder victims – NBC 7 San Diego

A highly anticipated murder trial began with a surprise. During their opening statements, prosecutors made some unconventional allegations and criticized the San Diego Police Department. NBC 7’s Alexis Rivas reports July 22, 2024.

During opening arguments Monday morning, the prosecution and defense agreed on some of the key facts of the case. Both say Parrish Chambers was drinking on June 14, 2022, when he climbed onto the balcony of Connie Dadkhah’s apartment, gained entry through a sliding glass door and violently attacked her.

But their accounts of what happened next differ. Prosecutors say Chambers’ attack was fatal and caused a brain hemorrhage.

“He beat her, and he beat her, and he beat her to death,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Doyle told the jury. “It was not a quick death, nor was it a gentle one.”

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Public defender Abe Genser said she survived the attack. Afterward, he said, Chambers reconciled with Dadkhah and the two smoked meth and had sex. Genser said her drug use, which continued into the early morning hours, was the primary cause of her death. In addition, he says, Chambers was so drunk that he doesn’t even remember the attack and didn’t intend to kill her.

“At the end of this trial, after you’ve seen all the evidence and heard all the experts, you’re going to be tasked with answering the question: Why?” Genser said. “And it won’t be because Mr. Chambers wanted someone he loved dead. The answer will be because he was incredibly drunk. He didn’t know what he was doing and did something he will regret for the rest of his life.”

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That story made headlines not only because of the brutal manner in which prosecutors say Dadkhah died, but also because of the criticism it sparked of the San Diego Police Department’s emergency response, which prosecutors addressed directly in their opening statements.

“I wish I could tell you that the San Diego Police Department did a good investigation in this case,” Doyle said. “They did not. In fact, many of the witnesses who would normally be my allies are going to be evasive and uncooperative. They screwed up and they know it. They failed Connie Dadkhah on June 14, 2022.”

Click here to read what happened on the other days of the murder trial. You can also watch replays of each day’s proceedings the following weekday from 11:30 a.m.

Background to the murder case

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On the morning of June 15, 2022, prosecutors say, Chambers emerged from Dadkhah’s apartment covered in her blood. They say he flagged down a neighbor to call 911 and report that she was dead inside. He was taken into custody soon after and charged with her murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Police dispatch records show that Dadkhah’s neighbors called 911 the previous evening around 7 p.m., pleading with police to come quickly and reporting that an aggressive man was trying to break into a woman’s apartment. The call was not prioritized at first. About an hour later, the callers had new information for dispatch: The man had climbed over a wall to their second-story balcony and forced his way into the house through a sliding glass door. Although police gave the call a higher priority, it took another 45 minutes for officers to arrive at the apartment complex.

The same incident logs and court filings from the prosecutor’s office indicate that officers attempted to contact Dadkhah by calling her, knocking on her door and using a loudspeaker. But officers left the scene 15 minutes later after being unable to reach anyone inside. There is no record of Dadkhah calling police that night.

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In defense of their decision not to forcefully enter the home the night before, police told NBC 7 Investigates they had reason to believe Chambers lived there based on a dispatch log officers accessed. Police also told NBC 7 that the decision to forcefully enter a person’s home is not something to be taken lightly and is among the strictest legal standards to which it is subject.

But Chambers didn’t live there, although NBC 7’s investigation revealed a shared history between the two. Court records show that this involved an incident in 2020, when Chambers was convicted of vandalism. The judge ordered Chambers to stay away from Dadkhah. That order was still in effect when Dadkhah died.

Public prosecutor begins calling witnesses

After opening statements, the prosecution called eight witnesses before time ran out for the day. Among them were people who lived in the condominium. Four neighbors told the court about previous incidents they had witnessed between Chambers and Dadkhah. They described some as shouting matches between the two, while others they described as much more violent.

“He went for her throat and she tried to run away. She was so much smaller,” a neighbor testified. “She tried to get away from him… He was loud. He was uninhibited compared to other times.”

A former neighbor named Adrian Van Der Walt lived in the complex the morning Dadkhah’s body was discovered. He testified that he helped Chambers call 911 on June 15 to report that Dadkhah was not breathing. He testified in court that Chambers was covered in blood and appeared emotionless.

Sara Shirazi lived directly below Dadkhah’s apartment and testified about all the calls she made to the police on June 14.

“I was afraid he would break the windows and hurt the woman upstairs,” Shirazi said.

Prosecutors showed more than a dozen videos from Shirazi’s personal security camera that showed Chambers’ behavior on June 14. In the videos, he can be seen walking toward Dadkhah’s apartment with a half-full bottle of vodka in his hand. At times, he can be seen shouting and gesticulating wildly. The camera angle did not capture Chambers climbing over the balcony and forcing his way into the apartment.

Her camera also captured an incident in April 2022 that appears to show Chambers attacking Dadkhah outside her apartment. A few hours later, the video shows police questioning Dadkhah and taking photos of her neck and arms.

Prosecutors also questioned San Diego Fire Department paramedic Eva Santillan about what she saw when her team first arrived at the scene on the morning of June 15. She testified it was obvious Dadkhah had died recently and explained the steps taken to secure evidence from the crime scene for police.

Former San Diego police officer Ralson Compton was also one of the first to arrive at the condominium. He and the jury were shown numerous crime scene photos. Among them were photos of Dadkhah’s body, which was covered with a blue sheet on the living room couch. Her face and body were pale, and there were signs of injuries to her face and neck.

The photos from the crime scene also showed that the house was a complete mess. It was crammed with various belongings, dirty clothes and garbage. There were also shards of glass from the smashed sliding door lying around in the living room.

There were also numerous images of blood splatter throughout the house, including in the living room and bathroom. During opening statements, public defender Genser told the court that all blood tests came back positive for Chambers and not Dadkhah. However, that evidence has yet to be presented in court during testimony.

The final witness of the day was Denise Martinez of the SDPD. She was working as a crime scene investigator at the time of Dadkhah’s death. On the morning of June 15, her job was to catalog evidence from Chambers’ body. Pictures were taken of all of his tattoos as well as numerous injuries. These included some deep cuts on his hands, arms, neck and chest. She then took DNA samples from his mouth and collected hair samples and fingernail scrapings.

Martinez then returned to the apartment and took dozens of photos of every room in the house. Prosecutors went through the photos piece by piece to give jurors a complete picture of the apartment and the crime scene. Martinez will take the stand again on Tuesday to continue her testimony.

Further charges in the case

In addition to the murder charge, prosecutors charged Chambers with three other crimes in which Dadkhah was allegedly his victim, including two counts of assault and one count of false imprisonment. He also pleaded not guilty to those counts.

The exact nature of their relationship is unclear, but Dadkhah’s friends say she met Chambers through her volunteer work in mental health care. They say he had a crush on her, found out her address and constantly visited her despite Chambers’ repeated requests to leave her alone.

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Court documents show that Chambers’ public defender is attempting to construct a different version of the allegations during the trial. He claims that the two had a turbulent sexual relationship during which they also used drugs.

How to follow the process

NBC 7 will be there every day to bring you all the important moments in full, including the broadcast of the previous day’s court proceedings starting at 11:30 a.m. The judge has ruled that live broadcasts from the courtroom are not allowed.

Follow the murder trial on NBC.com and NBC San Diego News’ streaming platforms (including Roku, Peacock and Samsung TV). And check back nightly at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. for coverage and analysis.