MIAMI (WSVN) - Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and Judge Tinkler Mendez worked together to finalize jury instructions on Thursday before handing real estate broker George Pino’s manslaughter and vessel homicide case over to jurors.
“I want to go through the jury instructions,” said Mendez. “The meat of it will be for me to address the manslaughter instruction, the vessel homicide instruction, and the request for an instruction on the navigational rules.”
Attorneys on both sides sparred over specific phrases and wording that jurors will receive before they begin deliberations, which are expected after closing arguments next week.
Additionally, Pino’s defense team rejected the idea of presenting jurors with a lesser offense, culpable negligence, rather than criminal negligence.
The day marked the culmination of an intense week in the courtroom.
Throughout the week, witnesses took the stand, including a neurologist, the father of the 17-year-old victim, Lucy Fernandez, who was killed in the boating crash, friends of Fernandez, Pino’s wife, Cecilia, and a boating expert.
Pino is on trial for manslaughter and vessel homicide in connection with the 2022 boating crash that killed Fernandez and left another teen, Katy Puig, with a permanent disability.
Jurors will return on Monday to hear closing arguments and likely begin their deliberations thereafter.
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