This piece was produced by Zoe Ferrigno and shot by J.P. Dobrin and Charlotte Silver.
The trial for a murder that put San Francisco at the center of a national debate about immigration is nearing its end. On July 1, 2015, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate — an undocumented immigrant with a criminal past and history of deportations — shot and killed Kate Steinle on San Francisco’s waterfront. For the past three weeks, the district attorney’s office and Garcia Zarate’s attorneys have been fighting to convince a jury that the shooting was either in cold blood or a tragic accident. Closing arguments in the trial are set for Monday, Nov. 20.