Alhambra man accused of killing girlfriend faces trial

The so-called "kitty litter murder" trial is underway at the Alhambra Superior Court, Pasadena Star-News is reporting. Thirty-seven-year-old Isaac Campbell, an Alhambra resident, is accused of killing his longtime girlfriend, 31-year-old Liya "Jessie" Lu, of San Gabriel, and then allegedly storing her body inside a trash can filled with kitty litter.

Police arrested Campbell back in 2007, but his first trial in 2011 resulted in a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Campbell's downstairs neighbor was recently brought into the trial as a new witness, according to the PCC Courier. The prosecution hopes that this new testimony will shed more light on what happened the night of Lu's death. The witness claims to have heard arguing, followed by a loud noise and then silence.

While the prosecution is arguing that Campbell murdered Lu by strangulation, his public defender is saying that she died of natural causes, having previously visited a doctor for seizure symptoms. Campbell has been in custody since 2007, and remains in prison in lieu of $1.3 million dollar bail as the trial continues.