Jurors hear details of torture, killing

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RIVERSIDE, Calif., March 16 (UPI) -- Jurors in a Riverside, Calif., courtroom heard chilling details from prosecutors of the torture and killing of a 16-year-old runaway girl, records show.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Kayla Wood allegedly said to Roman Aldana, 22, and Jose Solorza, 18, accused of stabbing her multiple times and setting fire to the house where she was wounded but still alive in a bathtub, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Tuesday.

Wood died in the fire, the newspaper said.

Aldana and Solorza have pleaded not guilty to charges of torture, arson and murder in the 2006 incident.

A third defendant, Solorza's cousin Anthony Bobadilla, pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for his testimony.

"She was used sexually, beaten and stabbed. She couldn't run from the future that lay in front of her," Supervising Deputy District Attorney John Henry said. "They were not swayed to save her life as she begged for an explanation to why they were killing her."

Prosecutors allege Aldana, who had been Wood's lover, ordered Solorza to carry out the killing because he thought she was pregnant, the Press-Enterprise reported.