Trial Proceedings to Begin in Fatal Beating Case

Photo courtesy of the Riverside Sheriff’s Department

By City News Service

Trial proceedings are slated to get underway Tuesday in the case against a convicted felon accused of torturing and fatally beating his girlfriend at their home in Temecula.

Edgar Silva, 28, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of inflicting torture in the course of a killing for the 2013 death of 20-year-old Shirley Chanel Corrales.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Davis will hear pretrial motions by the prosecution and defense at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on Tuesday morning, with jury selection to follow in the afternoon or Wednesday morning at the latest.

Deputies were called to the defendant’s residence in the 44000 block of Calle Hilario on the afternoon of Aug. 16, 2013, to investigate reports of a woman in distress.

When they arrived, the patrolmen located the unconscious victim in the master bedroom and attempted without success to revive her. Paramedics arrived moments later and pronounced Corrales dead at the scene.

Sgt. Jim Erickson said there was evidence of foul play, and, according to court records, investigators seized a whip and a stick allegedly used to beat Corrales.

Erickson said deputies verified that Silva lived at the location and began searching the neighborhood for him. Hours later, a deputy and his canine partner found the defendant hiding in the backyard of a nearby residence, according to the sergeant. Silva was arrested without incident.

According to court records, he has two prior felony convictions for domestic violence and was on probation at the time of his arrest. He also has a misdemeanor conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Silva is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center.