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Kim Pham beating: Video evidence likely presented at Tuesday hearing
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This composite of photos provided by the Santa Ana Police Department shows defendants Candace Brito (L) and Vanesa Zavala (R), who are each charged with one felony count of murder in connection with the death of Kim Pham, the 23-year-old woman who was beaten outside a Santa Ana nightclub on Jan. 19.
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Courtesy of Santa Ana Police Department
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Santa Ana police are seeking this woman as a "person of interest" in connection with the beating death of Kim Pham outside a Santa Ana nightclub early on Jan. 18, 2014.
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Santa Ana Police Dept.
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A makeshift memorial on Fourth Street and Broadway for Kim Pham.
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Ed Joyce/KPCC
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A preliminary hearing is scheduled Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. for two women charged in connection with the beating death of a young woman outside a Santa Ana nightclub.
Candace Brito, 27, and Vanesa Zavala, 25, have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder in the beating of 23-year-old Kim Pham outside The Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana. Pham was taken off life support and died three days after the January 19 altercation.
An Orange County Coroner's report said Pham died from complications of "blunt force trauma to the head." More details on that report will likely be part of the evidence introduced in the preliminary hearing.
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Troy Pino has also said there's clear video evidence showing the individuals that kicked and punched Pham.
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But defense attorneys Kenneth Reed and Michael Molfetta say their clients did not kill Pham.
Brito's attorney, Molfetta, said if prosecutors are basing their case on the video, "that dog won't hunt." He said Pham was "actively involved" in starting the fight outside the nightclub. But Pino said "it doesn't matter who started what. She (Pham) was on the ground[…] any assault was unjustified."
Brito and Zavala remain in jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
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