article: Attorneys for two sides agree that in April 1995, a 24-year-old man who had been pointed out by a Southern California college student as her rapist had his truck rear-ended before he was kidnapped, brutally beaten and killed. Where they differ is on the role of now-45-year-old Gianni Van in the murder of Gonzalo Ramirez, whose blindfolded, bloodied body was found on the side of a road. At the opening of his trial Wednesday, prosecutors said Van was enraged after his ex-girlfriend Norma Patricia Esparza told him Ramirez had raped her and he must be held responsible for the attack. She's expected to testify Thursday. Accused: Gianni Van, 45, (left) is accused of the 1995 murder of f Gonzalo Ramirez (right), whose blindfolded, bloodied body was found on the side of an Irvine, California road having suffered 30 blows with a cleaver . Van's lawyer said his client had no knowledge of the plan to harm Ramirez and was threatened that he would suffer a similar fate if he snitched on a friend and friend's employee who carried out the killing. The case has drawn international attention since Esparza — who went on to become a psychology professor and moved to France — was arrested in 2012, provoking an outcry from sexual assault victim advocates who say the case sends a chilling message to rape survivors. During opening statements, Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Murray showed graphic photos of Ramirez's blindfolded, mangled body lying on the side of the road in a pool of blood. 'Gonzalo Ramirez was targeted, and he was targeted by somebody who was going to make sure he suffered,' Murray said. 'Whether Norma Esparza was sexually assaulted or not, for our purposes today, doesn't matter. What matters is she told the defendant that.' Revenge? Prosecutors say Van killed Ramirez as revenge for raping his on-and-off girlfriend Norma Esparza (pictured). Esparza and Van allegedly entered into a sham marriage before Van's original arrest for the crime. Esparza could not be forced to testify and Van was released. They divorced and Esparza went on to become a psychology professor in France and the mother of a little girl . Arrested: In 2012, Esparza was arrested in connection to the slaying when she re-entered the United States for an academic conference . Prosecutors say Ramirez was taken to the transmission shop of his friend Kody Tran, where he was blindfolded, chained up and beaten. They say he was found having suffered 30 blows from a meat cleaver, reports the Orange County Register. The prosecution alleges Van was aided by Tran and Tran's wife Diane Tran as well as Tran's employee Shannon Gries. His body was found dumped on the side of a road in Irvine. 'It was beyond horrific,' Murray said. 'It was the act of an incredibly angry man...The defendant was out of his mind with anger.' 'He felt that he had been violated,' Murray said of Van. Van is charged with murder during the commission of a kidnapping. If convicted, he could get life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kody Tran died when he killed himself in an unrelated July 2013 standoff with police. His wife Diane has taken a plea deal and was expected to testify against Van. Shannon Gries still faces murder charges. After the killing, Van and Esparza — who had been questioned by police — entered into a sham marriage to avoid prosecution, Murray said. While Van was arrested in 1996, he was released because Esparza could not be forced to testify against her husband, he said. Esparza later divorced Van. Esparza's husband, Jorge Mancillas, had said at a 2013 news conference that his wife had confided in Van about the rape and he took matters into his own hands. Involved? The prosecution alleges Van was aided by his friend Kody Tran (center)  and Tran's wife Diane Tran (right) as well as Tran's employee Shannon Gries (left). Kody Tran killed himself during an unrelated standoff with police in 2013. Diane Tran has taken a plea deal and will testify against Van. Shannon Gries awaits trial on murder charges . Van's lawyer, Jeremy Dolnick, said his client knew nothing of the plans to kidnap or kill Ramirez but was shown his severely beaten body strung up by chains at Tran's auto transmission shop and warned he would face the same fate if he ever snitched. 'He didn't ask anyone to kill anyone. He never had homicidal thoughts of revenge,' Dolnick told jurors, adding that Van had confided in Tran about Esparza's rape and that Tran and Gries took matters into their own hands. Esparza, 40, is now the mother of a little girl. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in an agreement with prosecutors last year. She is expected to receive a six-year sentence in exchange for testifying at the trials of Van and another defendant. A fourth defendant also pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors. Plea: Esparza, here in 2013, claims she was coerced by Van into pointing out her rapist in 1995. She is expected to receive a 6-year sentence after testifying that Van murdered Ramirez .
highlights: Gianni Van, now 45, is accused of kidnapping and brutally killing his then girlfriend's accused rapist while in college in Southern California in 1995 .
  Norma Esparza, who went on to work as a psychology professor in France, was accused in the murder along with three others .
  Esparza, now the mother of a little girl, was expected to testify against her former boyfriend in a Santa Ana courtroom this month .
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