... And we're back, covering the sure-to-be-jarring trial of Giselle Esteban, the Union City woman who is accused of murdering former friend and nursing student Michelle Le last April. (Again, we do not want to take pleasure in such a brutal crime, but it's human nature to appreciate the dramatic unfolding, no?) The transcript of a three-day grand jury hearing in December, in which Esteban was indicted for the murder, have just been unsealed and we now get our first glimpse of the case against Esteban. The transcripts detail how Esteban hunted and stalked Le for several weeks, sending threatening text messages to ex-boyfriend and baby daddy Scott Marasigan (who she believed was obsessed with Le after the two had briefly dated), and calling Samuel Merritt University in order to find Le's class schedule.

Esteban repeatedly texted Marasigan telling him to "cut [Le] out of [his] life," saying threatening things like "She won't pass her midterms," and "punishment will be swift," and "I hope you find what you are looking for in someone as disgusting as her. I wish I had a kid with a better man." Esteban later used Le's cell phone, after her disappearance, to try to throw off friends and family looking for her, texting things back to them like "On way to Reno," because Le had a trip planned to Reno that weekend. Creepily, Marasigan later found Le's cell phone in his own car, which he believed Esteban planted there after stealing a spare set of keys from him.

As you may recall, Esteban has a six-year-old daughter with Marasigan, and gave birth to a second child (father unknown) around Thanksgiving, while in custody. What may have set Esteban off back in April was when Marasigan filed a restraining order against her in order to keep her away from their daughter. Three days later, Le disappeared.

Alameda County prosecutor Butch Ford contends that Esteban stole a security badge and a class roster from University staff, and used the badge to enter the Kaiser campus in Hayward. Though Le's cause of death is still not known, prosecutors believe Esteban attacked her in the parking garage at the hospital, where blood and hair from Le was found, and then transported her body to Sunol Canyon, where her remains were discovered five months later.

[Chron]

PREVIOUSLY: Giselle Esteban Indicted For Michelle Le Murder
Giselle Esteban, Accused Murder Suspect, Gives Birth