article: A professor testifying in a cold-case trial in Southern California said Thursday that she was intimidated into identifying her rapist to the man now charged with killing him in 1995. Norma Esparza, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the case and agreed to testify, said from the stand that her ex-boyfriend, Gianni Van, now 45, was outraged when he heard about the assault and demanded that she find and point out Gonzalo Ramirez at the bar where she met him. Van is now charged with the murder of Ramirez. Prosecutors allege Van and friends kidnapped and beat Ramirez and left him by the roadside. 'I was intimidated': Norma Esparza, pictured here during a press conference in 2013, testified Thursday at the murder trial of ex-boyfriend, Gianni Van, 45, who is charged with killing a man in 1995 she claims raped her. She says Van intimidated her into identifying the murder victim, Gonzalo Ramirez . Accused: Gianni Van, 45, (left) is accused of the 1995 murder of Gonzalo Ramirez (right), whose blindfolded, bloodied body was found on the side of an Irvine, California road having suffered 30 blows with a cleaver . 'We were sitting around a booth next to an entrance or exit, and at some point I see Gonzalo Ramirez walk by,' Esparza said of the night in 1995, according to the Orange County Register. 'When I see him, I cringe,' she said, showing how she reacted by bending her head down and putting her face in her hands. 'I didn't want to see him again.' Esparza, testifying in the trial's second day, said she was 'broken' by the assault, that Van was directing his anger not just at her attacker but at her, and that she did not know what Van and his friends would do once she pointed out Ramirez. 'He would just insult me,' she said. 'He would rant and just be explosive.' Revenge? Prosecutors say Van killed Ramirez as revenge for raping his on-and-off girlfriend Norma Esparza (pictured). They divorced and Esparza went on to become a psychology professor in Europe and the mother of a little girl (left). Esparza is pictured right upon her arrest while re-entering the U.S. in 2012 . Van's lawyer, Jeremy Dolnick, said his client had no role in the murder and knew nothing of any plans to kidnap or kill Ramirez. 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 advocates for sexual assault victims who say the case sends a chilling message to rape survivors. Esparza, 40, is expected to receive a six-year sentence in exchange for testifying at the trials of Van and another defendant. During opening statements this week, 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. 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 . 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.
highlights: Norma Esparza, 40, is facing six years in state prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter .
  She is one of four people accused of the 1995 killing of Gonzalo Ramirez, 24, who she claims raped her .
  A professor in Geneva, she was arrested in the cold case murder tin 2012 when she re-entered the U.S. for an academic conference .
  She says her ex-boyfriend, Gianni Van, forced her to identify Ramirez and then coerced her to keep the murder secret for almost two decades .
  Esparza is now testifying at Van's murder trial, which is in its second day .
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