'She was my only one': Refugee family sob in court as gruesome photos of their seven-year-old daughter 'raped and beaten to death by neighbor, 26,' are shown at his trial

Hser Ner Moo's body was found in a pool of blood in the bottom of Esar Met's shower in Salt Lake City, Utah in March 2008

26-year-old Met, also a Burmese refugee, has finally gone on trial this week after language barriers stalled the process



Her heartbroken parents sobbed as they testified in the trial

The family came to Utah after fleeing the Burmese jungle and moving to a crowded refugee camp in Thailand which later burned to the ground



A family of Burmese refugees whose only daughter was allegedly raped and murdered by their neighbor have shared their heartbreak at the suspect's trial.



Seven-year-old Hser Ner Moo was found dead in the bottom of Esar Met's shower in Salt Lake City, Utah in March 2008 after authorities say she had been raped, strangled and beaten.

'She was my one, my only one,' her father, Cartoon Wah, said through an interpreter on Wednesday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.



'I have lost many things in my life, but this was the biggest loss of my life... Now I have to carry on living with this broken heart and support my family.'

On trial: Esar Met, a Burmese refugee, sits with his defense team and interpreter during his murder trial on Wednesday in Salt Lake City. He is accused of killing 7-year-old Hser Ner Moo in March 2008

Loss: This photo of Hser Ner Moo, who was raped and beaten, was displayed at the murder trial At the opening statements on Tuesday, photographs of the grisly crime scene were shown to the jury, revealing Hser's tiny crumpled body in a pool of blood in the shower. 'It was spooky that night,' paramedic Andrew Maurer, who responded to the scene nearly six years ago, testified on Tuesday. 'It just looked like a horror scene to me.' Fire Captain Paul Rasmussen added that he was taken aback when he saw the amount of blood in the shower. He said that the girl's hair was thick with blood and that rigor mortis had already set in.

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Boy, 4, dies falling into a bathtub under 37-year-old... Share this article Share Maurer added: 'I saw the girl in the bottom of the shower stall, curled up, face down, her head was away from us. I could see that (her left arm) was bent back, broken.' Hser was killed on March 31, 2008 after she wandered from her parents' home at the same complex, telling an aunt she was going to play downstairs. But when she failed to return home, her parents grew anxious when they couldn't find her.

Devastated: Pearlly Wah weeps as photographs taken at her daughter's crime scene are shown in a preliminary hearing in November 2012. The distraught mother also testified at his trial on Wednesday Loss: Cartoon Wah, pictured in 2012, said losing his daughter has been the worst experience of his life

The couple, who only speak their native language of Karen, contacted their case worker who in turn called police. The little girl's body was found the following day.



Met, a 26-year-old Burmese refugee, was arrested and charged with first-degree felony counts of child kidnapping and aggravated murder.

If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty due to the extreme language barriers that have already stalled the case for so long.

On Wednesday, family members - including Hser's distraught parents and brothers - testified. Testimony from other relatives, including Hser's uncle, will continue on Thursday.

Before moving to Utah, the family had fled the Burmese jungle for a crowded refugee camp in Thailand, which later burned down.

Accused: Met enters the courtroom, where he is on trial for kidnapping and murder, on Wednesday

Scene: Hser and her family lived at this South Salt Lake complex, where she reportedly befriended Met

Her father recounted their fears as they waited for news of their missing daughter.



'The night [she disappeared] my wife was crying,' Wah said. 'It had been too long, so we assumed, we thought maybe our daughter is already dead.'

'I'll never forget the look on [the mother's] face,' caseworker Carrie Pender told the court on Thursday. 'Just the fear in her eyes that she couldn't find her little girl.'



Hser was described as a happy, smart little girl who loved going to Sunday school, was quickly learning English and was a delight to family, friends and her teachers.

His wife, Pearlly Wah, sobbed as she added: ' This is the biggest loss of my life. If you gave me the whole world of happiness to exchange for this little girl, I would say no. Nothing can pay me back because I only had one. Whenever I see little girls run around, it breaks my heart.'

Defense lawyers say no one saw Met take or kill Hser and that DNA found from his jacket and from beneath her fingernails were from games the two had shared in days before the murder.

Investigation: FBI agent James Lamadrid testifies on Tuesday as crime scene photos were shown

Explanation: Defense attorney Michael Peterson brings out a world map during the defense's opening. The family and the alleged killer were both Burmese refugees seeking a better life in Utah

Met, who had also been living in a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand before moving to the U.S., moved to the apartment about a month before the slaying.

He lived at the house with four roommates, but defense attorneys say they shunned him because he was a Muslim man of Indian origin.

The roommates were arrested on April 1, 2008 but they were later released. Police said they had not been home at the time of the killing and did not know her body was in the basement bathroom.

Met has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

