Suspect says criminal group threatened her

Monday, April 26, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

A woman charged with beating a man to death to steal a $44,000 gambling ticket told jurors Friday during the opening arguments of her trial that she purposely messed up in cleaning up the crime scene in an attempt to bring the man's killers to justice.

Bridget Pascua, 35, who is defending herself, told the jury she had been threatened by a criminal organization and ordered to get rid of the body of Doyle Upson.

In fear for her life and the life of her family, Pascua said she "took certain actions, the only actions that I could, to come to this man's aid.

"I couldn't save him," Pascua told the jury. "He was already dead."

Pascua teared as she told the jury how she found Upson in their downtown apartment, already beaten repeatedly with a hammer by her co-defendant, Kimberly Crawford, 36. Pascua said members of the alleged criminal organization had "escorted her out" of the apartment about an hour before.

Crawford confessed to beating Upson and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. In accordance with a plea agreement with prosecutors, District Judge John McGroarty sentenced Crawford in April 2003 to life in prison with possibility for parole after 20 years.

Crawford also implicated Pascua in the murder, and is scheduled to testify against Pascua today, Chief Deputy District Attorney William Kephart said.

Kephart said Pascua may not have beaten Upson with a hammer, but he alleged she tried to poison Upson with Valium and strangled him by sitting on his throat, stuffing a rag down his throat and possibly even wrapping a rope around his neck.

Prosecutors believe Crawford and Pascua were trying to rob Upson. Pascua is charged with murder, kidnapping and robbery, all with use of a deadly weapon.

Pascua, however, told jurors her only part in Upson's death was removing the body and that Crawford was conspiring with another man to implicate Pascua.

Pascua told jurors she dumped Upson's body and his belongings at a local marble pit, then began to tell different neighbors various stories of where Pascua was in order to raise suspicion.