HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — During the trial of Jamie John Nededog, who is accused of murdering Edwin Pirando, 54, in October 2023, Nedeog’s mother, Jessica Nededog, testified Thursday morning in the Superior Court of Guam as a witness.
In Assistant Attorney General Sean Brown’s opening statements, he said Jamie and Jessica Nededog went to the Guam Police Department after they learned about Pirando’s death in October 2023.
Brown subsequently asked Jessica Nededog to recall the events leading up to going to the police and what her eldest child had told her.
Pirando’s body was found on Oct. 15, 2023, near the Atantano Shrine in Sånta Rita-Sumai with several injuries to his face. The following day, Jessica Nededog asked Jamie Nededog if she knew Pirando had died.
“That day I went home for lunch, where Jamie informed me he was with Ed. We did hear that the body that was found was Ed,” Jessica Nededog said, before adding that Pirando’s death was the “word on the street” at the time.
Jessica Nededog then confirmed she and Jamie Nededog went to GPD’s Southern Precinct to provide information about Pirando.
Officers subsequently came to Jessica Nededog’s home, where Jamie Nededog was living, to look for a weapon in the house and confiscated a wrench from Jessica Nededog’s boyfriend, a security camera and a stuffed pillow, Jessica Nededog testified.
Considering the prosecution’s timeline of events showing Jamie Nededog leaving his residence in Pirando’s truck at 5:30 a.m. Oct. 15, 2023, and spotted again two hours later parked in the area by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church and Mount Carmel Charter School, Brown asked if Jessica Nededog had seen Jamie Nededog that morning.
“He was asleep … on my couch … about 6 a.m.,” Jessica Nededog said, adding she was taking her granddaughter to church at 7:30 a.m. and returned home afterward to see Jamie Nededog still sleeping.
Cross-examination
Before Brown concluded his questioning of Jessica Nededog, he asked her if Jamie Nededog had said anything about driving and parking Pirando’s truck.
Jessica Nededog answered that Jamie Nededog did say he parked the truck, but did not say why, and said she didn’t ask why he did. She added that Jamie Nededog should have called the police, explaining Jamie Nededog said someone else was involved.
“He just mentioned that they went there to meet somebody. … (I) didn’t know the person,” Jessica Nededog said.
Jamie Nededog’s attorney, Peter Santos from the Alternate Public Defender, followed Brown’s questions by asking about Jessica Nededog’s son’s personality.
“Jamie is a good kid. He’s not like everybody else his age. Jamie’s a bit behind. … He’s more to himself. … (He’s) usually quiet,” Jessica Nededog said before Santos asked about Jamie’s reaction to Pirando dying.
“Did he seem surprised?” Santos asked. Jessica Nededog said her son was surprised and immediately told her he was with Pirando.
“And then I asked him if he was willing to go to (the) police department and let them know what he knows to help them find the person who killed Ed,” Jessica Nededog testified before telling Santos that Jamie Nededog was not hesitant about going to the police.
Santos then asked Jessica Nededog if her son confessed to killing Pirando.
“He told me, ‘I did not kill Ed. He’s my friend,'” Jessica Nededog responded.
In his opening statements, Santos said Jamie Nededog and Pirando were neighbors in Hågat and Jamie Nededog had known Pirando since Jamie Nededog was young.
The remainder of Santos’ questions related to Jessica Nededog’s interactions with GPD in the investigation and their conversations between the time Jamie Nededog was last with Pirando and going to the police.
Santos, however, also followed up on Jamie Nededog not going to the police after driving Pirando’s truck, which had blood in it.
“Why wouldn’t he call the cops?” Santos asked.
“I don’t know why he wouldn’t, but like I said, Jamie’s mentality is not like someone his age. With us, we would immediately call the police because there’s foul play, but it (didn’t) dawn on him right then and there,” Jessica Nededog said, testifying that she did not get the feeling her son was being dishonest.
Body
Before Jessica Nededog’s testimony, Grace Bourgeois was called as a witness to testify about finding Pirando’s body near the Atantano Shrine.
Bourgeois said she was with her nieces and was looking for a place to relax and eat when they arrived at the Atantano Shrine area to find a body.
“We saw this guy laying on the ground. We thought he was sleeping or drunk or something, but then as we drove closer, we just see his face and body,” Bourgeois said before tearing up during her testimony.
“I’ve never seen a dead body before,” Bourgeois added.
Pirando was found near the Atantano Shrine on Oct. 15, 2023. He exhibited several injuries to his face consistent with blunt-force trauma, according to Guam’s chief medical examiner.
Brown stated in his opening statements that Pirando was struck at least 10 times with a blunt-force object, but admitted there is no murder weapon that will be submitted as evidence to be shown to the jury.
Jamie Nededog is on trial for murder, theft of a motor vehicle as a second-degree felony, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle as a misdemeanor and attempted destruction of evidence.
Santos, however, told the jury in his opening statements there was no evidence or even motive that links Jamie Nededog to the death of Pirando and added he is facing charges because he was the last person seen with Pirando.
