Prosecutors say Coral Springs woman killed her friend but can’t say why. Defense says her actions reflect panic, not guilt.

There was a dead body on Yvonne Serrano’s driveway in Coral Springs, and she knew she had to call the police. She placed the call around dawn on Nov. 23, 2019.

But before that, she washed her clothes, a prosecutor told jurors this week. She had to get the blood off. “Blood sticks to white,” Serrano told investigators.

Jurors are set to begin deliberations on Friday over whether Serrano, 55, murdered her friend, fellow gym patron and drinking buddy Daniela Tabares, 21, after a night out with friends in Coconut Creek.

Jurors learned during the weeklong trial that Serrano and Tabares were out at the World of Beer and that the two were seen leaving together in Tabares’ car. The following morning, police were at Serrano’s home trying to determine why Tabares was lying in her driveway, half in and out of her car, with a gunshot wound to her head.

Serrano called the police about 6 a.m. She said she didn’t know Tabares, then later said she did, according to police. She told officers she had no memory of what happened after World of Beer but woke up in her bed. She later admitted that was not true.

While detectives were combing over the crime scene, Serrano was on her phone, said Assistant State Attorney Ruby Green, deleting videos from her Ring door camera.

“Why, you may ask,” Green said. “I’ll tell you. Because you are trying to hide something. That is consciousness of guilt.”

But Green conceded she could not tell the jury why Serrano committed the crime. It’s a mystery that prosecutors are not obligated to solve, she said. The prosecution must prove Serrano murdered Tabares, not why, Green said.

Defense lawyer Joe Kimock said prosecutors failed to prove Serrano was the killer. The weapon that killed Tabares had the victim’s DNA on it, but not Serrano’s, he said, raising the possibility that Tabares killed herself, accidentally. If that happened, everything Serrano is accused of doing afterward, including placing her gun in her bedroom, could be explained as a panic move by an innocent person.

“If you’re not sure beyond all reasonable doubt what happened in that car, you must find Yvonne not guilty,” said Kimock.

Green said Serrano’s actions are better explained as her attempts to cover up the crime.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Serrano faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Jurors were set to begin deliberations Wednesday, but the region’s weather emergency forced the closure of the courthouse, which will reopen Friday morning.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.