BELFAST, Maine — Convicted murderer Julio Carrillo invoked his 5th Amendment rights on Friday and a judge ruled that he will not have to testify in the murder trial of his wife, Sharon Carrillo.
Julio Carrillo is serving 55 years in prison for the murder of Sharon Carillo's daughter, 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy, in February 2018.
Sharon Carrillo is also charged with depraved indifference murder in the death of her daughter in a Stockton Springs condominium.
Outside the presence of the jury Friday morning, defense attorney Chris MacLean asked Julio Carrillo a series of questions, including whether he alone was responsible for Kennedy's death, whether he created text messages that Sharon Carrillo told police convinced her that Kennedy should be brutally punished, whether he sent his wife a text message saying he was going to rape and kill Kennedy, and whether he took the photograph, previously shown to jurors, of Kennedy kneeling in only her underwear, with Sharon Carrillo standing behind her.
Sharon Carrillo has testified that was the position Kennedy was forced into while she was being beaten with a belt and a mop, punched, kicked and otherwise assaulted.
MacLean also asked Julio Carrillo if he sexually assaulted his wife and Kennedy.
To each question, Carrillo invoked the 5th Amendment, and Justice Robert E. Murray sustained it in each case, saying that although he was already sentenced, his rights against self-incrimination remain because of the "post-conviction process."
When the trial continued in the presence of the jury, Sharon Carrillo's stepmother, Roseann Kennedy, testified that Carrillo didn't speak her first word until she was nearly five years old and was diagnosed with "broad-based learning disabilities."
She said when Sharon Carrillo met her husband, communication with Sharon became limited, and that when Sharon became pregnant, Kennedy knew she did not have the intellectual ability to care for a child.
Kennedy said as time went on, Marissa Kennedy began to look at Julio Carrillo before making any decisions.
"The last time I'd seen her at my house, I said, 'I love you,'" Roseann Kennedy said. "She looked at me and mouthed, 'I love you too.' She was afraid to say it. The next time I saw her, she didn't even [mouth] it. It broke my heart."
Kennedy describes Sharon Carrillo as "a child in a woman's body," but acknowledges to prosecutors that she had a job and a driver's license.
When prosecutor Robert Macomber said to Kennedy, "You want to blame Julio," Kennedy became angry.
"It's not a matter of I want to blame Julio ... [Sharon] didn't have a mean bone in her body."
"Listen, after being told day in and day out, controlled by this man, Sharon lost her identity ...," Roseann Kennedy said.
Also on Friday, a former neighbor of Julio and Sharon Carrillo testified that he repeatedly called police and DHHS after hearing what sounded like abuse in the apartment, but no action was taken.
And a forensic psychologist testified that Sharon Carrillo has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder is intellectually challenged and susceptible to suggestion.
Michael O'Connell said, "it would be very very difficult for [Sharon Carrillo] to go against [Julio Carrillo's] wishes." He says detectives leveraged that during their interviews with Sharon Carrillo to influence her.
Sharon Carrillo’s attorneys say they expect their defense to continue well into next week. The trial is scheduled to wrap up by Dec.18.
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