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The murder trial of former PCC student Isaac Campbell continued with more testimony on Nov. 15 and will resume with additional witnesses today.

Campbell was charged in 2007 in the slaying of his girlfriend, Liya “Jessie” Lu. He has been in custody ever since.

According to prosecuting attorney Steve Ipsen, witness Michael Darby, a friend of Campbell, was called to the stand on Nov. 15 Darby described the events leading up to the discovery of the body.

Previously, Darby had told police that Campbell had returned home to Minnesota. After, he opened the recycling bin that Campbell had asked him to store at his house, and found Lu’s body in a plastic bag filled with kitty litter.

Continuing his testimony this week was Lu’s cousin, Jeremy Zhou, who married her in 1998. They lived together in San Gabriel until their divorce in 2003. The two, according to Zhou, managed to maintain a relationship as cousins.

Zhou, who was aware of who Campbell was, said previously that the last time he saw Lu Aug. 11, 2007.

Campbell is a former student of PCC who was studying architecture while Lu, who held an Associates Degree in Arts in 2006, returned to study nursing.  According to Campbell’s father, the two dated for years.

Lu’s body was discovered in 2007. According to Medical Examiner, Dr. Pedro Ortiz, the body was in such a state of mummification that the cause of death is still undetermined. Toxicology results also proved useless, producing an account of small amounts of alcohol in her system. The nature of death, however, according to Ortiz, was homicide.

Previous testimony painted Lu as a hardworking and punctual person. Ruth Evans, who worked with Lu, said that she never had tardy problems and always completed her work on time. Evans, however, soon became suspicious when Lu stopped showing up for work.

According to Ipsen, the trial will continue with more testimony on Nov. 17 at 10:30 a.m.

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