What is not in dispute is that Francisco "Flaco" Martinez killed Manuel Jesus Campos on a dark, rural road near Ventura on July 4, 2005.

Jurors, however, must decide whether Martinez killed Campos in self-defense or if the slaying was first-degree murder.

During closing arguments in Martinez's murder trial on Monday, Martinez's lawyer, Anita Candelaria, told jurors that her client didn't ambush and attack the 66-year-old Campos.

Candelaria said Martinez was being attacked by Campos and fought back "in the best way he knew how."

"It's an imperfect self-defense," she said. "It's a voluntary manslaughter."

She said Martinez, 41, is a homeless alcoholic who suffers from alcohol-induced dementia and was incapable of planning the crime.

She said he was manipulated by Campos' wife, Estella Magana, who got others to do her bidding.

In May, a jury found Estella Magana, 53, guilty of first-degree murder and lying in wait during the commission of a murder. Jurors also decided she committed the crime for financial gain.

Magana's daughter, Adelina Magana, 19, is a third defendant. She testified against her mother in May and against Martinez at his trial. In exchange for her testimony, she will plead guilty to a reduced felony — voluntary manslaughter.

Martinez, of Ventura, is on trial in Ventura County Superior Court for first-degree murder and is also being charged with using a weapon in commission of the felony crime and lying in wait.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Stacy Ratner argued to jurors that there is no way that the crime was self-defense, and she outlined in detail how the crime occurred.

Ratner said Martinez intended and planned, months ahead, to kill Campos to please his lover and girlfriend, Estella Magana. She said Estella Magana wanted Campos dead and wanted to keep their house.

Martinez wanted to fill Campos' shoes and to move into Magana's house after Campos' death, Ratner said.

According to Ratner, Estella Magana manipulated her daughter and worked with Martinez to lure Campos to a remote area off Olivas Park Drive as part of a ruse that Magana's van had broken down.

As Campos was trying to jump-start the van, Martinez came out of the bushes and attacked Campos with a pipe and a knife, Ratner said.

She said witnesses stopped on the road when they saw the two men fighting, and the heroic actions of former Marine and Iraq veteran Elijah Williams stopped Martinez.

Williams pulled Martinez off Campos after he had been stabbed three times, said Ratner.

"He's killing me," Ratner said Campos told Williams. She said Martinez told Williams after being pulled off, "I'm done."