Jurors hear audio tapes at trial for alleged MS-13 associate accused of luring teens to their death

Prosecutors played two recordings between Leniz Escobar and her boyfriend Amador, who was in police custody at the time of the calls.

News 12 Staff

Mar 24, 2022, 9:49 PM

Updated 1,002 days ago

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Potentially damaging evidence was released Thursday in the trial of a woman accused of luring young men to their deaths allegedly at the hands of MS-13.
Jurors heard phone calls made from inside prison. Prosecutors played two recordings between Leniz Escobar and her boyfriend Amador, who was in police custody at the time of the calls. They say both calls between the two took place on April 12, the day after the murders.
On the tapes, Escobar is heard telling her boyfriend that she might be in trouble because four people "got on the train--but one escaped." At first, Amador is heard asking her why she got into this and if she was forced to do something. Escobar says she was not forced to do anything. During the second phone call, Amador asks why one got away when all five were "handed on a silver platter."
Prosecutors say Escobar lured five teenagers to a wooded area in Central Islip, where they were attacked by MS-13 members. One person escaped, but the four others were killed.
Admitted MS-13 gang member Sergio Segovia Pineda also took the stand Thursday.
Earlier this week, the sole survivor of the attack said he and his four friends were brought to the park by Escobar to smoke marijuana. When they got there about a dozen MS-13 gang members killed four of them.
The defense attorney claims the young woman was never an MS-13 associate and did not help plan the murders.
The trial will resume Monday and is expected to last several weeks.