A Queens handyman has pleaded guilty to the killing of a 51-year-old mother who was found dismembered in a duffel bag earlier this year. On Wednesday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 44-year-old David Bonola pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal.

According to a statement from Katz, shortly after midnight on April 16, Bonola, a handyman who had previously worked at Gaal’s residence, went to her home, where she had just returned from a night out. The two got into an argument and he slashed her throat and proceeded to stab her more than 50 times, the statement said.

Katz did not elaborate on why Bonola had gone to the residence. At the time of Bonola’s arrest, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said that he and Gaal had been in an “off-and-on” relationship for at least two years. The two allegedly reunited early in the month of April, but their relationship was considered at an end at the time of Gaal’s death, the police said.

At approximately 4:15 am, Bonola was captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera wheeling a duffel bag. The bag was found in a nearby park about four hours later with Gaal’s dismembered body inside, prosecutors said. Police followed the trail of blood to Gaal’s home where they discovered the murder weapon, prosecutors said. Police also discovered Bonola’s jacket at the park where the duffel bag was found, according to prosecutors.

When Bonola spoke to police days later he made “incriminating statements” and revealed that he had gone to a local hospital to treat a cut on his hand, prosecutors said. Bonola also stated that he and Gaal had argued and confessed to stabbing and moving her body, prosecutors said.

“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Katz said in a statement. “I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea.”

“In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions,” Katz added. “We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”

Bonola is set to be sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision on November 16, prosecutors said.

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David Bonola and Orsolya Gaal.

A 44-year-old New York City handyman who admitted to stabbing his ex-lover more than 50 times before stuffing her body in a duffel bag and leaving it outside near a park will spend several decades in prison.

Queen’s Supreme Court Judge Michael Aloise sentenced on Wednesday David Bonola to 25 years in prison for the brutal slaying of 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal Earlier this year, prosecutors announced.

In addition to the prison time, Judge Aloise also sentenced Bonola to an additional five years of post-release probation.

“This was a brutal killing, and no amount of prison time can bring the victim back to her loved ones,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement following the proceeding. “Today’s sentencing, however, provides a measure of justice and I hope the victim’s family can rest easier knowing that the person responsible was held fully accountable.”

Prosecutors had initially charged Bonola with murder but in November agreed to drop that charge in exchange for Bonola pleading guilty to the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter, Law&Crime previously reported.

According to a press release from prosecutors, Bonola at approximately 12:30 am on April 16 arrived at Gaal’s home. The 51-year-old woman had just returned to her residence in Forest Hills after an evening out at Lincoln Center.

“Bonola and the victim, who were previously known to one another, began to argue. The verbal fight quickly escalated to Bonola slashing Gaal’s throat and stabbing her more than 50 times with a knife,” the press release states. “At approximately 4:15 am, Bonola was captured on a nearby home’s security video surveillance footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag belonging to one of the victim’s sons. The bag, containing Gaal’s lifeless body, was found at about 8:00 am on Metropolitan Avenue, near Union Turnpike, in the vicinity of Forest Park.”

A dog-walker found the bag in question, the DA’s office said.

On the date of the investigation unfolded, a homicide detective said during a press gaggle that the authorities believed Bonola and Gaal had an “intimate-type relationship” and that a “heated” argument began over “domestic” issues between the two. NBC News reported that authorities said Gaal and Bonola were in an “on-again-off-again” romantic relationship that was considered “off” during their final encounter.

A “trail of blood” led investigators from the bag with Gaal’s body in it directly to the doorstep of the home where she resided with her husband and two teenage sons, the local constabulary said. Investigators searched the home where they recovered the murder weapon “hidden” inside.

The jacket Bonola wore during the attack was found in Forest Park.

Gaal’s husband and one of her sons were reportedly out of town visiting colleges at the time of her death; another son was home asleep and apparently was unaware that his mother was being killed.

As the police combed the crime scene, WABC reported that Bonola simply walked up to detectives and said, “I hear you are looking for me.”

“Days later, the defendant offered to speak to police and during questioning made incriminating statements,” one of the DA’s press releases stated. “He revealed that some time on Saturday he went to a hospital for a cut on his hand. He also stated in sum and substance that he and the victim argued and confessed to stabbing her and moving her body.”

Authorities said the cut on his hand was the result of Gaal fighting off his attacks.

“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” DA Katz said in a statement announcing the plea deal. “I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea.”

[image of Bonola via mugshot; image of Gaal via Facebook]

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A Nevada handyman convicted of strangling to death an 81-year-old man in the bedroom of a Newport Beach home was sentenced Monday, May 23, to 25 years to life in prison.

Anthony Thomas Garcia, 63, continued to profess his innocence during his sentencing hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom, a little more than a year after an Orange County Superior Court jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for the April 11, 2015, slaying of Abelardo Lopez Station.

Garcia’s conviction came at the end of his second trial; an earlier jury did not reach a verdict. The second jury found the killing was not carried out for financial gain, which had been alleged by prosecutors and could have led to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

On Monday, Garcia told Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson that his conviction was a “failure of the justice system. …

“I have been wrongly convicted of a crime I did not commit,” Garcia said. “I am an innocent man. I have always been an innocent man.”

Estacion’s killing came in the midst of an ugly fight over the estate of Dortha Lamb, Estacion’s dying wife who has since died. Garcia is the former boyfriend of Lamb’s granddaughter and two of Garcia’s daughters are Lamb’s great-granddaughters.

Lamb was a self-made woman who owned valuable real estate in Newport Beach, San Clemente and Costa Mesa. She had been with Estacion for more than 20 years, marrying him shortly before his death. At the time, Lamb was dying from terminal cancer and suffering from dementia.

Garcia and some of Lamb’s relatives apparently believed Estacion was abusing Lamb and taking advantage of her health issues to siphon money from her accounts. According to testimony during the trials, Garcia had told others he wanted to kill Estacion.

Lamb’s family got her out of the Newport Beach home she shared with Estacion, and went to court to try to get Estacion kicked out of the residence.

A judge delayed a decision on whether to approve a temporary restraining order against Estacion. Hours later, someone entered the Newport Beach home, cut the power and smothered, struck and strangled Estacion.

Prosecutors accused Garcia of driving from Carson City to Newport Beach to kill Estacion, alleging he then immediately drove back to Nevada. They also alleged he left his cell phone with his adult daughter, Samantha Garcia, to make it look like he had stayed in Nevada.

Samantha Garcia initially told investigators she had her father’s cell phone the night of the killing and sent fake text conversations between his cell phone and hers. But during both trials the daughter recanted those earlier claims, alleging detectives pressured her to lie about having the cell phone.

During the trials, Garcia’s attorney, Alisha Montoro, described him as a non-violent, devoted family man who lived a simple life. The defense attorney denied the allegations by prosecutors that Garcia believed his daughter’s were entitled to Lamb’s money. She said Garcia wasn’t even in California the night of the killings.

During the sentencing, Clara Sanchez, Garcia’s sister, described him as funny, kind and unselfish, adding that he is “generous and giving to a fault.” She denied that he has ever been “a violent or aggressive human being. …

“We are all so proud that he has been able to survive in an unfair and prejudiced judicial system,” Sanchez told the judge.

The defense attorney unsuccessfully requested a new trial, alleging, among other things, that some jurors had fallen asleep during the second trial and that a juror had cited their own medical experience to claim the death could only have been a homicide.

The judge described the allegations of jurors falling asleep as “not credible” and said the discussion about the cause of death appears to have been based on opinions formed from courtroom testimony, not outside evidence

“Nothing I say will make this feel better for Mr Garcia or Mr Garcia’s family,” Judge Hanson said. “But make no mistake, I would not proceed with sentencing if in the court’s view Mr. Garcia was an innocent man.”

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A Nevada handyman was convicted Tuesday of killing an 81-year-old man who was strangled six years ago in the bedroom of a Newport Beach home.

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Anthony Thomas Garcia, 62, guilty of first degree murder for the April 11, 2015 slaying of Abelardo Lopez Estacion.

The jury, however, found the killing was not carried out for financial gain. Such a determination would have made it a special circumstances murder, which would have led to a likely sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

The conviction comes less than a year after another jury was unable to reach a verdict, leading to a mistrial and a second trial. The second trial was delayed several times mid-testimony after Garcia was placed in temporary quarantine due to being exposed to other jail inmates who tested positive for COVID-19.

The killing came in the midst of an ugly fight over the estate of Dortha Lamb, Estacion’s dying wife. Garcia was the former boyfriend of Lamb’s granddaughter, and two of Garcia’s daughters were Lamb’s great-granddaughters.

At the beginning of Garcia’s latest trial, Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt told jurors that the case was about “family, greed, hatred and deception.”

Lamb – a self-made woman who owned valuable real estate in Newport Beach, San Clemente and Costa Mesa – had been with Estacion for more than 20 years, but only married him shortly before his death. At the time of Estacion’s slaying, Lamb was dying from terminal cancer and suffering from dementia.

According to testimony during the trials, Garcia and some of Lamb’s relatives believed that Estacion was abusing Lamb and taking advantage of her health issues to siphon money from her accounts. Garcia had told others that he wanted to kill Estacion, according to testimony.

A legal battle broke out, with Lamb’s family taking her from her Newport Beach home and trying to get Estacion kicked out of the residence and barred from contacting Lamb. A judge delayed a decision on whether to approve a temporary restraining order against Estacion.

Hours later, someone entered the Newport Beach home, cut power to the residence, and then smothered, struck, and strangled Estacion.

Prosecutors allege that Garcia drove from Carson City to Newport Beach to kill Estacion, then immediately drove back. They say he left his cell phone with his adult daughter, Samantha Garcia, to make it look like he was still in Nevada.

Samantha Garcia initially told investigators that she had her father’s cell phone the night of Estacion’s killing and carried out a fake text conversation between the two of them. But during both trials the daughter recanted those claims, alleging detectives pressured her to lie and saying she didn’t have her father’s cell phone that night.

During the trials, Garcia’s attorney, Alisha Montoro, described Garcia as a non-violent, devoted family man who lived a simple life. The defense attorney denied that Garcia believed his daughters were entitled to Lamb’s money, and told jurors that Garcia wasn’t even in California the night of the killing.

Garcia is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 28. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

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A Nevada handyman convicted of strangling to death an 81-year-old man in the bedroom of a Newport Beach home was sentenced Monday, May 23, to 25 years to life in prison.

Anthony Thomas Garcia, 63, continued to profess his innocence during his sentencing hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom, a little more than a year after an Orange County Superior Court jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for the April 11, 2015, slaying of Abelardo Lopez Station.

Garcia’s conviction came at the end of his second trial; an earlier jury did not reach a verdict. The second jury found the killing was not carried out for financial gain, which had been alleged by prosecutors and could have led to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

On Monday, Garcia told Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson that his conviction was a “failure of the justice system. …

“I have been wrongly convicted of a crime I did not commit,” Garcia said. “I am an innocent man. I have always been an innocent man.”

Estacion’s killing came in the midst of an ugly fight over the estate of Dortha Lamb, Estacion’s dying wife who has since died. Garcia is the former boyfriend of Lamb’s granddaughter and two of Garcia’s daughters are Lamb’s great-granddaughters.

Lamb was a self-made woman who owned valuable real estate in Newport Beach, San Clemente and Costa Mesa. She had been with Estacion for more than 20 years, marrying him shortly before his death. At the time, Lamb was dying from terminal cancer and suffering from dementia.

Garcia and some of Lamb’s relatives apparently believed Estacion was abusing Lamb and taking advantage of her health issues to siphon money from her accounts. According to testimony during the trials, Garcia had told others he wanted to kill Estacion.

Lamb’s family got her out of the Newport Beach home she shared with Estacion, and went to court to try to get Estacion kicked out of the residence.

A judge delayed a decision on whether to approve a temporary restraining order against Estacion. Hours later, someone entered the Newport Beach home, cut the power and smothered, struck and strangled Estacion.

Prosecutors accused Garcia of driving from Carson City to Newport Beach to kill Estacion, alleging he then immediately drove back to Nevada. They also alleged he left his cell phone with his adult daughter, Samantha Garcia, to make it look like he had stayed in Nevada.

Samantha Garcia initially told investigators she had her father’s cell phone the night of the killing and sent fake text conversations between his cell phone and hers. But during both trials the daughter recanted those earlier claims, alleging detectives pressured her to lie about having the cell phone.

During the trials, Garcia’s attorney, Alisha Montoro, described him as a non-violent, devoted family man who lived a simple life. The defense attorney denied the allegations by prosecutors that Garcia believed his daughter’s were entitled to Lamb’s money. She said Garcia wasn’t even in California the night of the killings.

During the sentencing, Clara Sanchez, Garcia’s sister, described him as funny, kind and unselfish, adding that he is “generous and giving to a fault.” She denied that he has ever been “a violent or aggressive human being. …

“We are all so proud that he has been able to survive in an unfair and prejudiced judicial system,” Sanchez told the judge.

The defense attorney unsuccessfully requested a new trial, alleging, among other things, that some jurors had fallen asleep during the second trial and that a juror had cited their own medical experience to claim the death could only have been a homicide.

The judge described the allegations of jurors falling asleep as “not credible” and said the discussion about the cause of death appears to have been based on opinions formed from courtroom testimony, not outside evidence

“Nothing I say will make this feel better for Mr Garcia or Mr Garcia’s family,” Judge Hanson said. “But make no mistake, I would not proceed with sentencing if in the court’s view Mr. Garcia was an innocent man.”

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A Queens handyman has pleaded guilty to the killing of a 51-year-old mother who was found dismembered in a duffel bag earlier this year. On Wednesday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 44-year-old David Bonola pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal.

According to a statement from Katz, shortly after midnight on April 16, Bonola, a handyman who had previously worked at Gaal’s residence, went to her home, where she had just returned from a night out. The two got into an argument and he slashed her throat and proceeded to stab her more than 50 times, the statement said.

Katz did not elaborate on why Bonola had gone to the residence. At the time of Bonola’s arrest, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said that he and Gaal had been in an “off-and-on” relationship for at least two years. The two allegedly reunited early in the month of April, but their relationship was considered at an end at the time of Gaal’s death, the police said.

At approximately 4:15 am, Bonola was captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera wheeling a duffel bag. The bag was found in a nearby park about four hours later with Gaal’s dismembered body inside, prosecutors said. Police followed the trail of blood to Gaal’s home where they discovered the murder weapon, prosecutors said. Police also discovered Bonola’s jacket at the park where the duffel bag was found, according to prosecutors.

When Bonola spoke to police days later he made “incriminating statements” and revealed that he had gone to a local hospital to treat a cut on his hand, prosecutors said. Bonola also stated that he and Gaal had argued and confessed to stabbing and moving her body, prosecutors said.

“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Katz said in a statement. “I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea.”

Story continues

“In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions,” Katz added. “We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”

Bonola is set to be sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision on November 16, prosecutors said.

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Handyman denies killing elderly woman as a witness alleges he heard the pair argue: ‘Fix it yourself’

• Stuart Paul Anderson is accused of killing his elderly neighbor, Vicki Ramadan
• Anderson allegedly beat Mrs Ramadan to death between March 23 and 25, 2019
• He pleaded not guilty and his lawyer argues he cannot be identified as the killer
• Anderson found Mrs Ramadan’s body in her Melbourne home on April 6, 2019
• He admitted to lying to police twice in interviews about discovering her body

By Karen Sweeney For Australian Associated Press

Published: 11:27 GMT, 27 September 2022 | updated: 11:27 GMT, 27 September 2022

Vicki Ramadan (above) was found beaten to death inside her Sydenham home in Melbourne’s northwest on April 6, 2019

‘She seemed like a very lovely lady, she didn’t deserve this at all.’

That’s what accused killer Stuart Paul Anderson told a reporter about the woman he’s accused of brutally beating to death.

There was a widespread appeal for information in the days and weeks after the body of his 77-year-old neighbor Vicki Ramadan was found in her Sydenham home in Melbourne’s northwest on April 6, 2019.

‘I really hope the cops catch the son of a bitch,’ Anderson said in the interview with A Current Affair.

The unedited footage of that interview was played to jurors in Anderson’s Victorian Supreme Court murder trial on Tuesday.

He has pleaded not guilty to killing Mrs Ramadan sometime between March 23 and 25, 2019.

Witnesses told the jury they heard multiple arguments between them in the days before she was killed.

It was Anderson who called the police after finding her body.

Stuart Paul Anderson (above) found Mrs Ramadan’s body and described her as a ‘very lovely lady’ who ‘didn’t deserve this’ but is now accused of her murder

He said he first met Mrs Ramadan when she knocked on his door and asked him to help her with some odd jobs.

A taxi drier saw the pair arguing about Anderson arriving late to help her with jobs on the morning of March 23, 2019.

Later another witness heard Anderson aggressively yelling at Mrs Ramadan, saying ‘f*** you, fix it yourself’ while assembling a flat pack before heading home. He later returned to her house.

Prosecutor Neill Hutton said there were signs of life on March 25 – a call from one of her phones to another at 9.30am and an electricity spike consistent with a hotplate at lunchtime.

Anderson told his partner he was going to check on Mrs Ramadan and pick up tools he left at her house about 9am on April 6.

Anderson previously told police her discovered Mrs Ramadan’s body inside her home (above) at about 9am on April 6 but later told them he actually found her between 1.30am and 2am and knocked in her back door

He said he found her body after going through the back door, which had been kicked open.

Anderson stuck with that story during his first two police interviews but after officers became suspicious about his story he told them in August 2019 that he had lied because he actually found her body between 1.30am and 2am on April 6 after he himself knocked in her back door.

But the trouble with what Anderson told the reporter, his partner and police is that it’s false, prosecutor Neill Hutton said.

‘It’s essentially a sham, a charade. It’s false,’ he said.

Mrs Ramadan was known for wearing lots of jewellery, but that and cash was still inside her home, jurors heard.

Anderson’s barrister Glenn Casement said identity was an issue in the trial.

‘My client didn’t kill the deceased,’ he said.

The trial before Justice Amanda Fox is continuing.

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A Nevada handyman convicted of strangling to death an 81-year-old man in the bedroom of a Newport Beach home was sentenced Monday, May 23, to 25 years to life in prison.

Anthony Thomas Garcia, 63, continued to profess his innocence during his sentencing hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom, a little more than a year after an Orange County Superior Court jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for the April 11, 2015, slaying of Abelardo Lopez Station.

Garcia’s conviction came at the end of his second trial; an earlier jury did not reach a verdict. The second jury found the killing was not carried out for financial gain, which had been alleged by prosecutors and could have led to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

On Monday, Garcia told Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson that his conviction was a “failure of the justice system. …

“I have been wrongly convicted of a crime I did not commit,” Garcia said. “I am an innocent man. I have always been an innocent man.”

Estacion’s killing came in the midst of an ugly fight over the estate of Dortha Lamb, Estacion’s dying wife who has since died. Garcia is the former boyfriend of Lamb’s granddaughter and two of Garcia’s daughters are Lamb’s great-granddaughters.

Lamb was a self-made woman who owned valuable real estate in Newport Beach, San Clemente and Costa Mesa. She had been with Estacion for more than 20 years, marrying him shortly before his death. At the time, Lamb was dying from terminal cancer and suffering from dementia.

Garcia and some of Lamb’s relatives apparently believed Estacion was abusing Lamb and taking advantage of her health issues to siphon money from her accounts. According to testimony during the trials, Garcia had told others he wanted to kill Estacion.

Lamb’s family got her out of the Newport Beach home she shared with Estacion, and went to court to try to get Estacion kicked out of the residence.

A judge delayed a decision on whether to approve a temporary restraining order against Estacion. Hours later, someone entered the Newport Beach home, cut the power and smothered, struck and strangled Estacion.

Prosecutors accused Garcia of driving from Carson City to Newport Beach to kill Estacion, alleging he then immediately drove back to Nevada. They also alleged he left his cell phone with his adult daughter, Samantha Garcia, to make it look like he had stayed in Nevada.

Samantha Garcia initially told investigators she had her father’s cell phone the night of the killing and sent fake text conversations between his cell phone and hers. But during both trials the daughter recanted those earlier claims, alleging detectives pressured her to lie about having the cell phone.

During the trials, Garcia’s attorney, Alisha Montoro, described him as a non-violent, devoted family man who lived a simple life. The defense attorney denied the allegations by prosecutors that Garcia believed his daughter’s were entitled to Lamb’s money. She said Garcia wasn’t even in California the night of the killings.

During the sentencing, Clara Sanchez, Garcia’s sister, described him as funny, kind and unselfish, adding that he is “generous and giving to a fault.” She denied that he has ever been “a violent or aggressive human being. …

“We are all so proud that he has been able to survive in an unfair and prejudiced judicial system,” Sanchez told the judge.

The defense attorney unsuccessfully requested a new trial, alleging, among other things, that some jurors had fallen asleep during the second trial and that a juror had cited their own medical experience to claim the death could only have been a homicide.

The judge described the allegations of jurors falling asleep as “not credible” and said the discussion about the cause of death appears to have been based on opinions formed from courtroom testimony, not outside evidence

“Nothing I say will make this feel better for Mr Garcia or Mr Garcia’s family,” Judge Hanson said. “But make no mistake, I would not proceed with sentencing if in the court’s view Mr. Garcia was an innocent man.”

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A Nevada handyman convicted of strangling to death an 81-year-old man in the bedroom of a Newport Beach home was sentenced Monday, May 23, to 25 years to life in prison.

Anthony Thomas Garcia, 63, continued to profess his innocence during his sentencing hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom, a little more than a year after an Orange County Superior Court jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for the April 11, 2015, slaying of Abelardo Lopez Station.

Garcia’s conviction came at the end of his second trial; an earlier jury did not reach a verdict. The second jury found the killing was not carried out for financial gain, which had been alleged by prosecutors and could have led to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

On Monday, Garcia told Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson that his conviction was a “failure of the justice system. …

“I have been wrongly convicted of a crime I did not commit,” Garcia said. “I am an innocent man. I have always been an innocent man.”

Estacion’s killing came in the midst of an ugly fight over the estate of Dortha Lamb, Estacion’s dying wife who has since died. Garcia is the former boyfriend of Lamb’s granddaughter and two of Garcia’s daughters are Lamb’s great-granddaughters.

Lamb was a self-made woman who owned valuable real estate in Newport Beach, San Clemente and Costa Mesa. She had been with Estacion for more than 20 years, marrying him shortly before his death. At the time, Lamb was dying from terminal cancer and suffering from dementia.

Garcia and some of Lamb’s relatives apparently believed Estacion was abusing Lamb and taking advantage of her health issues to siphon money from her accounts. According to testimony during the trials, Garcia had told others he wanted to kill Estacion.

Lamb’s family got her out of the Newport Beach home she shared with Estacion, and went to court to try to get Estacion kicked out of the residence.

A judge delayed a decision on whether to approve a temporary restraining order against Estacion. Hours later, someone entered the Newport Beach home, cut the power and smothered, struck and strangled Estacion.

Prosecutors accused Garcia of driving from Carson City to Newport Beach to kill Estacion, alleging he then immediately drove back to Nevada. They also alleged he left his cell phone with his adult daughter, Samantha Garcia, to make it look like he had stayed in Nevada.

Samantha Garcia initially told investigators she had her father’s cell phone the night of the killing and sent fake text conversations between his cell phone and hers. But during both trials the daughter recanted those earlier claims, alleging detectives pressured her to lie about having the cell phone.

During the trials, Garcia’s attorney, Alisha Montoro, described him as a non-violent, devoted family man who lived a simple life. The defense attorney denied the allegations by prosecutors that Garcia believed his daughter’s were entitled to Lamb’s money. She said Garcia wasn’t even in California the night of the killings.

During the sentencing, Clara Sanchez, Garcia’s sister, described him as funny, kind and unselfish, adding that he is “generous and giving to a fault.” She denied that he has ever been “a violent or aggressive human being. …

“We are all so proud that he has been able to survive in an unfair and prejudiced judicial system,” Sanchez told the judge.

The defense attorney unsuccessfully requested a new trial, alleging, among other things, that some jurors had fallen asleep during the second trial and that a juror had cited their own medical experience to claim the death could only have been a homicide.

The judge described the allegations of jurors falling asleep as “not credible” and said the discussion about the cause of death appears to have been based on opinions formed from courtroom testimony, not outside evidence

“Nothing I say will make this feel better for Mr Garcia or Mr Garcia’s family,” Judge Hanson said. “But make no mistake, I would not proceed with sentencing if in the court’s view Mr. Garcia was an innocent man.”

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HOUSTON — Authorities say newly tested DNA evidence helped them make an arrest in the killings more than eight years ago of a family, including two boys, who were shot in their suburban Houston home.

Feng Lu, 58, who had long been considered a suspect in the case, was arrested on Sunday by police in San Francisco after his arrival from China, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Lu has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Maoye Sun and his wife Mei Xie and the couple’s two sons, 7-year-old Titus and 9-year-old Timothy, the sheriff said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Lu was being held Wednesday at a jail in San Mateo County, California, pending extradition to Texas. Court records did not list an attorney for Lu who could speak on his behalf.

The bodies of all four family members were found on Jan. 30, 2014, in their home in the Houston suburb of Cypress. All had been shot in the head. Investigators said Sun was last seen alive leaving work on Jan. 24.

Lu was linked to the killings after new forensic testing done in January on samples that previously were not able to be identified showed that Lu’s DNA was found on a purse that belonged to Xie, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The DNA testing contradicted statements Lu had made previously to investigators in which he had said he did not know Xie or her children and didn’t know where the family lived, according to the affidavit.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings, but according to the affidavit, Lu had unsuccessfully tried to get Sun’s help with a promotion at work. Both had worked at Cameron International, which provides products and services to oil and gas companies.

Lu “stated he believed that (Sun) made derogatory comments about him to fellow co-workers … which may have been the reason he did not get the promotion,” according to the affidavit.

Investigators say Lu had bought a handgun a week before the killings and then returned it five days after the killings without the weapon’s barrel. Authorities allege Lu gave inconsistent stories about what happened to the gun’s barrel. Investigators also allege that bullets Lu had bought with the gun had likely been manufactured on the same machine as the bullet that killed one of the boys, Titus.

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