Was deadly fight between SLO roommates murder or self-defense? A jury will now decide

A jury will decide the fate of a San Luis Obispo man accused of brutally beating his roommate to death with a baseball bat following an argument allegedly fueled by alcohol in November 2015.

While a prosecutor argued in his closing statements Monday that Charles Chad Giese is "guilty as sin" of first-degree, premeditated murder in the death of Walter Vallivero, Giese's attorney told the jury in his closing that Giese was fully justified in killing Vallivero because he was afraid for his life.

"My client does not have to wait until he gets killed to exercise his right to self-defense," defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu said Monday. "I believe my client was justified in killing Mr. Vallivero."

Giese, 42, is accused of beating Vallivero to death with a rock, a bottle and a bat on Nov. 16, 2015, following an argument over Giese's pending eviction in the manufactured home the two shared on Rancho Oaks Drive, a community of about a dozen homes on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo.

Opening statements in the trial began May 21, and testimony has featured witnesses for the prosecution such as former neighbors of the two, sheriff's deputies who examined the scene and interviewed Giese, and a forensic pathologist who reviewed reports drafted by the county's former medical examiner at the request of the DA's Office.

Prosecution witnesses have testified that Vallivero's skull was "annihilated" by at least four strikes from an aluminum baseball bat, considered to be the fatal injuries, though Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle alleges Giese also used a decorative rock, a malt liquor bottle, and finally a kitchen knife against Vallivero, to "finish him off."

Neighbors have testified that the roommates' relationship was tumultuous and began getting worse over the nine weeks the two lived together. Neighbors testified to hearing loud arguments, usually from Vallivero, who would curse and threaten to kick out Giese, and who was usually much louder than Giese.

Giese did not testify in his defense, but he told authorities after turning himself in that Vallivero was drunk and punched him in the face before the two began to physically fight. He said that he used the bottle and the bat because Vallivero "kept coming at" him.

Funke-Bilu, who rested his case Friday after calling back to the stand just two of the prosecution's witnesses, presented closing arguments Monday. He told the jury that though Giese's actions appeared to be "overkill," they were justified because Giese was afraid for his life.

"You might think it was overkill. My client feels like it was overkill," Funke-Bilu said. "Think about what it truly means to be fearful for your life."

Funke-Bilu argued that Vallivero's homicide fits the definition of justifiable homicide because of Vallivero's constant berating and threats against Giese. In a previous altercation, Vallivero had allegedly pointed a realistic-looking BB gun at Giese.

Funke-Bilu argued that even if jurors don't agree the death was a justifiable homicide, he said the evidence supports, at best, imperfect self-defense (if Giese had a justifiable fear of being killed or suffering serious injury), or at worst, voluntary manslaughter.

"He had lost his reasoning, his judgment. He was under the influence of intense emotion," Funke-Bilu said. "Yes, it's a homicide, but you don't have the malice."

In his rebuttal, Peuvrelle told the jury that the alleged fight between the roommates never happened and that the next-door neighbor testified to hearing a series of loud thuds before it sounded like a body hit the floor.

He also said that Giese, who was bigger and younger than Vallivero, had no reason to be afraid of him, and had not been trying to leave.

"He wasn't afraid at all. He wanted to stay because he had a good deal (on rent)," he said.

Peuvrelle told the jury that Giese had to physically walk across the living room to retrieve the bat after Vallivero fell the floor, and that would have given time for Giese to think before he killed Vallivero. He also pointed to a 6-inch incision wound to the back of Vallivero's neck, which he said was an attempt to decapitate Vallivero.

"A person who honestly believes he was justified doesn't do that," Peuvrelle said.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Giese faces 26 years to life in prison.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Was deadly fight between SLO roommates murder or self-defense? A jury will now decide."