About this story

This story is based on interviews with Louis Gonzalez III, his lawyers, Simi Valley Police Det. David Del Marto, and James Ellison, Ventura County’s chief assistant district attorney, among others. Times reporter Christopher Goffard also listened to an audio recording of Gonzalez’s police interrogation and reviewed hundreds of pages of court records, including the criminal complaint against Gonzalez, the prosecution’s motion to deny bail, witness depositions, and emails and other investigatory materials filed in court. Quotations attributed to Tracy West are from an audio recording of her interview with police and from her videotaped testimony in a custody case involving the son she had with Gonzalez. Calls to West’s lawyers, seeking comment from her, were not returned. In court testimony, West said she has declined all interview requests.