Was it an act of self-defense or jealous rage that led to the death of a Davis man last month — this was the question before a Yolo County judge this week.
The preliminary hearing for Heder Migoya began with testimony from Yolo County Sheriff’s deputy Miles Torres, who was called out to a rural Davis residence near the 24000 block of County Road 95 on the early morning of Sept. 29. It started out as an assault with a deadly weapon call, but what Torres described warranted a different charge.
“There was a large amount of blood on and around the victim,” Torres testified on Wednesday. A knife was also found on the floor a few feet away, which witnesses on scene identified as the murder weapon.
The victim, later identified as 41-year-old Dustin Dougherty, died on the scene due to his injuries.
Migoya, 33, allegedly stabbed Dougherty and fled, returning to his home in Calaveras County. He was later booked into the Yolo County Jail and faces a single murder count as well as an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty to these charges.
As the story continued to unfold in the courtroom, Migoya listened with the assistance of a Spanish-language interpreter. He wore headphones and slouched down in his seat, wearing a gray and white, stripped jumpsuit.
It was Lech Garcia, a detective with the Sheriff’s Department, who illuminated the conflicting theories surrounding the case. He was present during Migoya’s interrogation and that of woman named Lori Sievers, who was married to and has a young child with Migoya, but the pair had been separated for about a year. Sievers was in a relationship with Dougherty at the time of the incident.
Garcia began with Sievers’ telling, questioned by Deputy District Attorney Amanda Zambor.
Sievers described the defendant as “very sweet, caring, loving” during the early years of their relationship. He later showed his “jealous side” his “violent side,” she told Garcia.
“She had to stop talking to all her male friends,” Garcia explained. “He was always accusing her of being unfaithful.”
Sievers said her former husband was verbally, emotionally and physically violent toward her. She called the police on him once, but later called them off. Eventually the couple chose to separate, sharing parental duties of their three-year-old son.
This arrangement came into play the night of the incident, when Migoya entered the Davis home with his son in his arms, hoping to drop him off after having the child for several weeks in Southern California.
According to Sievers, she and Dougherty had gone to bed and were both in her room that night. She did not hear a knock at the front door, but later heard her name and what sounded like someone opening the bedroom door. This was unusual for Migoya, who typically waited outside the residence to pick up his son, Garcia testified.
When Migoya entered the room with the child, she called out to see if it was him. She also nudged Dougherty “as if to be quiet,” Garcia explained. She told Migoya to leave the room, taking her son from his arms and bringing him out into the living room. From that viewpoint, she saw Migoya jump onto the bed and heard what she described as “punching sounds.” Sievers did not see a weapon and attempted to pull Migoya off by his shirt.
“She was faulting herself,” Garcia explained. “That was all she was able to do was rip her shirt.”
Sievers started screaming for help and Migoya “took off,” Garcia concluded.
During his police interview, Migoya’s statements mirrored that of Sievers except for one distinct difference — for Migoya, this was self-defense.
Returning his son, Migoya said he knocked on the bedroom door, hearing “moaning sounds” through it. Migoya expressed his concerns about Sievers being unfaithful. To him, their separation was only temporary and he told Sievers not to have other men in the bed he purchased for her.
Migoya entered the room to find both Sievers and Dougherty nude — Sievers’ telling had them both in underwear — and Sievers began yelling at him, grabbing her child from his arms. In that moment Migoya said he “felt betrayed.”
Migoya told detectives that Dougherty got up from the bed and came toward him “charging him and throwing a jacket over his face,” Garcia testified. Then, Dougherty reached for Migoya’s pocket knife, taking and opening it. Migoya was able to get the knife back, however, throwing the jacket back over Dougherty and pushing him back onto the bed. According to Migoya, he was aiming for the victim’s legs in an act of self-defense, but ended up puncturing elsewhere. In reality, it was a stab wound to the chest that led to Dougherty’s death.
“Dougherty knocked it (the knife) out of his hand and he (Migoya) got up and left,” Garcia testified.
Deputy Public Defender Emily Fisher, during her cross examination, pointed out that it was the roommate who instructed Migoya to leave the property.
“He wasn’t running,” she emphasized. Garcia touched upon this during his testimony, noting that Migoya was cooperative during questioning.
“Migoya claims he was defending himself and that he has a right to defend himself,” Garcia concluded.
Judge Timothy Fall upheld the murder charge and enhancement, scheduling an arraignment on the information at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Department 11.
Contact Sarah Dowling at 530-406-6231.
