San Jose resident Kevin Nguyen Googled “how to kill a person” and the “best way to dispose of a body” before he went to the home of his ex-girlfriend with the intention of murdering her on Oct. 5, 2015, Milpitas police Detective Abbie Serrano testified in court Monday.

Serrano, who was the primary investigating officer in the murder of 20-year-old Milpitas resident Danica Bascos, was the only person called to the stand by Deputy District Attorney Kalila Spain during the second day of the preliminary hearing for Nguyen, who is accused of murdering Bascos.

On June 16, the first day of the preliminary hearing, Spain called Danica Bascos’ father Daniel Bascos, his sister, a Bascos family neighbor, Milpitas police detectives and a county criminalist to testify.

Nguyen, 26, appeared on both days dressed in a red jail jumpsuit and was seen glancing back at family members in the court gallery, as he sat next to his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kelley Kulick.

On Monday, Serrano told the court — presided over by Superior Court Judge Shelyna V. Brown — about her arrival to the Bascos home on the 600 block of Manzano Street and determining there were no signs of forced entry. She said she then went into Danica Bascos’ room and saw the victim with “red blood like stains on her body and what she was wearing.”

Serrano, along with Detective Jason Speckenheuer, interviewed Nguyen after he was arrested on the morning of Oct. 6. She said during the police interview Nguyen appeared “calm and nonchalant” and was aware of his surroundings.

Serrano said that during the next four hours of the interview Nguyen related how he confronted Danica Bascos on Sept. 13, 2015 and “his intent to kill her” — an incident that ended with Nguyen’s alleged assault of Danica Bascos and her then-boyfriend John Souza near the light rail station close to the Great Mall.

The detective said Nguyen also spoke about the murder itself.

Serrano said Nguyen admitted to using a black-handled knife he’d purchased from a Lucky Supermarket — a weapon that was recovered from his bedroom — to stab Bascos in her left breast, her chest and repeatedly in her back. Nguyen also told Serrano Danica Bascos pled for her life, but he continued to stab her.

“After he stabbed her he checked to see if she had a pulse, and she did, he checked again and then she didn’t,” Serrano told the court.

Nguyen then attempted to stab her again with a yellow-handled knife, also recovered in his room, but the blade bent.

Serrano said Nguyen admitted to killing Danica Bascos because she lied about cheating on him, and didn’t want to stay in a relationship with him. Nguyen also said he wore gloves so he wouldn’t leave fingerprints.

“He told me ‘the demons’ in his head told him to kill her, I asked him if demons had talked to him when he purchased the gloves, mask or knife, he said ‘no’ …he said he was mad and he identified himself as a jealous person,” Serrano told the court.

Serrano testified that Nguyen had taken Danica Bascos’ laptop, cell phone, purse, and car keys, and had told her he intended to use her phone to lure her boyfriend Souza and then shoot him in the head.

Serrano recalled finding a note written by Nguyen in Danica Bascos’ bedroom called “rules,” which had a list of ways he wanted her to behave. The “rules” list included not talking to Souza and blocking him from her phone and social media sites, not blocking Nguyen and telling everyone that she was Nguyen’s girlfriend.

Nguyen told the detective that both he and Danica Bascos made rules for each other, although no such written list was recovered from Nguyen’s belongings.

Serrano told the court in response to a question from Kulick that she had interviewed Souza as well as his father, Gary Souza, and learned that Nguyen and John Souza attended the same post-senior program at San Jose City College for people who can’t go to college.

Kulick reminded Serrano that she’d been told Nguyen had not graduated from high school, did not have a GED, could not hold a steady job, did not have a driver’s license, did have a developmental disability, does not live independently and could not use household appliances without issues. Nguyen was also being seen at San Andreas Regional Center, which provides case management and services to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, at the time of the murder, according to Kulick.

Later, the court heard an audio recording of Serrano reading Nguyen his Miranda rights, and asking him if he understood them after each statement. The detective also asked Nguyen to tell her what he thought those statements meant.

“It means I need a lawyer, and I have my rights to speak up,” Nguyen said in the audio recording, He went on to say that was it, as far as he could remember.

Kulick argued Nguyen’s response indicates that he did not fully understand what was being asked of him, citing his developmental disability. The public defender then asked Judge Brown that when she reviews the transcripts and video from the police interview that she keep in mind Nguyen’s developmental state.

Serrano said in response to a question from Kulick that she had not asked Nguyen specifically if he waived his rights, but the judge said the waiver was implied in his confirmation after each statement.

Still, prosecutor Spain argued Nguyen is a 26-year-old man and that his living at home had more to do with caretaking versus his inability to understand the rights he waived when he spoke to detectives.

“He maintained relationships with Danica and another female, the fact that he suffered from a developmental disability is not the same as mental illness or impairment,” Spain said.

The judge is expected to review the evidence and return with a decision on whether the case will proceed to a criminal trial. on Tuesday, July 12 at San Jose Hall of Justice, 190 W. Hedding St., San Jose.

Contact Aliyah Mohammed at amohammed@bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-262-2454 or follow her on twitter.com/Aliyah_JM. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/MilpitasPost and twitter.com/MilpitasPost.