Judge Gregory A. Dohi of the Los Angeles Superior Court will rule Tuesday whether to grant a new trial to Edward Contreras, who was convicted of the murder of Freddie Walker in 1997.

Contreras was convicted of helping Scott Taylor murder Walker at the home of Taylor’s parents on Bouquet Canyon Road.

Contreras, with the help of Justin Brooks, Director of the California Innocence Project, has tried to show that his original trial was undermined because the primary witness, Lisa Garringer, did not tell the truth.

In 1997, Garringer testified that Contreras and another suspect, Scott Taylor, had killed, dismembered, and disposed of Walker’s body.  Garringer recanted her original testimony during the appeal, saying that she was frightened and pressured into saying that Contreras had helped Taylor.  Now, she and Taylor have both testified that Contreras had nothing to do with the killing of Walker.

“Edward Contreras is innocent of the murder charge and has been fighting to clear his name for the last decade,” said Brooks.

Dohi, who said “something unusual is going on here” at the conclusion of the closing arguments, is expected to issue his ruling Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Department 113 of the Van Nuys Courthouse West.