December 1, 2009 By ANN GIVENS ann.givens@newsday.com
Hearings began today in the case against a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in March after violating multiple orders of protection.
The pretrial hearings will determine whether police followed proper procedure when they asked witnesses to identify Leonardo Valdez-Cruz in a photo lineup, and when they recorded Valdez-Cruz's statements after his arrest.
Valdez-Cruz, 24, of Westbury, is charged with first-degree murder and criminal contempt in the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Jo'Anna Bird, 24, a mother of two. His trial on those charges is set to begin early next year.
At the hearing Tuesday morning, Nassau Det. Joseph Hill described Valdez-Cruz's emotional surrender to police at a meeting arranged by his sister and father in the Bronx.
"He was very upset. He was crying," Hill said of Valdez-Cruz. "He said, 'Am I going to jail for the rest of my life?' "
Bird was stabbed to death in her New Cassel home on March 19.
Bird's mother, Sharon Dorsett, did not comment as she left court at the lunch break except to say, "This is just really hard."
Bird had been terrorized by Valdez-Cruz, according to court records that allege he violated an order of protection three times - including an incident in which he beat, kidnapped and held her at gunpoint in January, sparing her life only when she vowed to stay with him.
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