Preliminary Hearing on Christie Wilson murder
eartha...@yahoo.com
Suspect, missing woman kissed and joked, Placer hearing is told
By Art Campos -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, December 1, 2005
Relationships and videotaped images of two people walking in a parking
lot were the focus Wednesday in the first day of a preliminary hearing
to determine whether Mario Flavio Garcia should stand trial for murder
in the case of a woman missing since Oct. 5.
Garcia, 53, of Auburn and Christie Wilson, 27, of Sacramento left
Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln together at 1:13 a.m. Oct. 5 and
headed toward his car, the casino's surveillance videotapes show.
Wilson has not been seen since.
The images of Wilson and Garcia, shot from various angles by cameras
outside the casino, were played before Placer Superior Court Judge
Larry D. Gaddis.
The two walk into a darkened area of the lot, making it impossible to
see if Wilson got into Garcia's white Toyota Camry.
Other shots of the car are inconclusive as to whether someone is in the
passenger seat.
Despite the absence of a body, prosecutors are pressing a murder charge
against Garcia, saying they will prove the crime through circumstantial
evidence.
Today, prosecutor Garen Horst is expected to call an investigator to
testify about evidence obtained through search warrants.
Two Placer County sheriff's detectives testified Wednesday.
Mike Davis testified about the videotapes, and Don Murchison testified
about the relationship between Wilson and her boyfriend, Daniel
Burlando of Sacramento, who was the original focus of the investigation
but later was cleared by investigators.
Murchison said Burlando, 30, and Wilson fought frequently.
The two were arrested last Easter by Sacramento police on suspicion of
assaulting each other during an argument, Murchison said. Also, in a
10-day period prior to Wilson's disappearance, the two fought often, he
said.
"(Burlando) said he cared deeply for her but that it was a love-hate
relationship," he said.
On Oct. 4, Wilson went alone to the Thunder Valley Casino, where she
and Burlando were regulars, Murchison said.
He said cell phone records show she called Burlando at 10:28 p.m. and
that Burlando tried calling her as the night passed but the calls were
missed.
At the casino, Wilson met Garcia at a blackjack table and the two
became "very friendly," according to two dealers who noticed them,
Murchison said.
One dealer said the two sat close together, joking and drinking wine,
Murchison said. Wilson even kissed Garcia on the cheeks and once on the
lips, the dealer told Murchison.
As the evening wore on, Wilson began to lose and Garcia loaned her
money to cover losses of between $150 and $300, the dealer told
Murchison.
The other dealer said Wilson told Garcia she was trying to find a job
and complained about her relationship with Burlando, Murchison said.
The dealer overheard Garcia ask if she had lost her job and then say,
"You can come to my place and I'll take care of you."
Through his questioning of Murchison, Garcia's attorney, Ron Peters,
established that Wilson had been kicked out of her parents' Gilroy home
two months ago, that she suffered from depression and that she had
overdosed on pills in a suicide attempt in February.
Peters also asked about Wilson's and Burlando's first meeting, while
gambling at Cache Creek Casino Resort a year ago.
Murchison said that Burlando told him the two of them went to
Burlando's car, kissed and smoked marijuana.
Outside the courtroom, Wilson's mother, Debbie Boyd, conceded that
Peters had homed in on her daughter's character. "But I don't care what
she or anyone else's behavior might be," Boyd said. "It doesn't justify
that person being killed, and (a killer) further victimizing a family
by not disclosing where he put her."
eartha...@yahoo.com
Big focus on tiny clues
Some see print, DNA as damning in murder hearing after casino
disappearance
By: Penne Usher,
Auburn Journal
Friday, December 2, 2005 9:47 AM PST
A fingerprint and strand of hair found on Mario Garcia's car indicate
to the prosecution and to the family of Christie Wilson that she was in
his vehicle Oct. 4 and he must have killed her.
Tammy Harris, supervisory evidence technician with the Placer County
Sheriff's Department, took the stand Thursday during day two of
Garcia's preliminary hearing at the historic Auburn courthouse.
Harris went through the process with the court of how evidence was
gathered from Garcia's white Toyota Camry, now housed at the sheriff's
evidence lot.
She said a fingerprint belonging to Wilson was found on the
passenger-side door and a hair with a follicle attached was found
lodged into the passenger door knob.
Pat Boyd, Wilson's stepfather, said that information clearly implicates
Garcia.
"That hair that was stuck in the car could only occur one way -
somebody's head got slammed into the side of the car," he said. "That's
plain and simple. It didn't fall off - her head got slammed into that
car."
Wilson was last seen leaving the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln with
Garcia, 53, of Auburn. She hasn't been heard from since and is presumed
to have been murdered.
Video surveillance taken the night of Wilson's disappearance showed her
and Garcia sitting at various black jack tables in the casino, acting
friendly and at one point she kissed him on the cheek.
Wilson reportedly borrowed between $150 and $300 from Garcia the night
of Oct. 4 while playing cards.
Debbie Boyd, Wilson's mother, took issue with the line of questioning
used by defense attorneys David Dratman and Ron Peters. Specifically,
the hour of court time consumed with re-examining video footage taken
at the casino the night of Wilson's disappearance that allegedly
depicts Garcia's vehicle leaving the casino parking lot around 1:20
a.m.
"The question is, regardless if it is or isn't (Garcia's car), how does
Mario Garcia explain Christie's DNA in his Toyota Camry - in the trunk
and passenger handle of his vehicle?" she asked outside the courthouse.
Surveillance video from 1:13 a.m. Oct. 5 shows Wilson and Garcia
walking to his car. Officials say they are certain she got into his
car. Wilson's boyfriend, Daniel Burlando, reported her missing Oct. 6.
It came to light in the courtroom Wednesday that Wilson had a gambling
problem and frequently visited casinos alone. She met Burlando, 30, of
Sacramento, just more than a year ago at Cache Creek Casino.
Wilson reportedly sat with Burlando at a blackjack table and asked to
borrow $10 to gamble with.
Burlando said in a telephone interview Thursday that although he hasn't
been in the courtroom, he is getting updates daily, presumably from his
parents. He was out of town on business Thursday and declined to
discuss details about his life.
When told he was the focus of Wednesday's cross examination by Garcia's
defense attorneys, Burlando said, "I'm not surprised. I believe it will
get a lot worse before it gets better."
Burlando said he is certain that he will be called to testify, perhaps
during the preliminary hearing.
"I've been prepared for the fact that I may have to take the stand. The
defense might keep me up there for a week," he said.
DNA results confirm that two hairs taken from Garcia's white Toyota
Camry belonged to Wilson.
At 1:20 a.m. a video shows Garcia's vehicle turning right onto Athens
Road, which leads to Roseville and a dump.
If Garcia had been heading to his Auburn home he would have most likely
turned left onto Athens Road toward Industrial Avenue and Highway 65,
officials said.
Debbie Boyd voiced concern that Garcia has seemingly slipped through
the cracks of the judicial system. She spoke about a 1979 felony kidnap
and rape charge that occurred in Alameda County involving Garcia that
was later dropped to a misdemeanor.
"He's been empowered by the judicial system all the way back to 1979,"
she said. "We've allowed him to believe he can beat the system."
She said another young woman, along with her mother, was in a vehicle
with Garcia. That car reportedly ended up in the Oakland bay.
Officials would not comment on whether Garcia was involved in the
Oakland bay incident.
One of those women reportedly died; however, Garcia walked away from
the crash.
"We have the responsibility ... to show this man that the system has
improved," Debbie Boyd said. "We'll lock him up and get him off the
street."
For nearly two months law enforcement and volunteers have searched
hundreds of miles of grasslands, lakes, rivers, culverts and
mountainous terrain, to no avail. Wilson's body has not been found.
Placer County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $35,000 for information
leading to Wilson's whereabouts. To provide information, call Crime
Stoppers at 1-800-923-8101. All tips are anonymous.
Officials have sent a plastic bag containing human hair, tape, rope and
a "bondage ball" to the Department of Justice crime lab in Sacramento
for fingerprint and DNA testing. It is not clear if the items are
related to the case.
Volunteers will conduct a search for Christie Wilson this weekend and
encourage anyone interested in helping with the search to meet at the
Thunder Valley Casino's employee parking lot at 9 a.m.
Garcia remains in Placer County Jail on $3 million bail. He is
scheduled to return to Placer County Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. today
in Dept. 2 for continuation of the preliminary hearing.
goldenm...@yahoo.com
clothes he wore
that night. He told LE that his wife took them to the dry cleaners.
While executing the
SW, the wife turned the articles of clothing over to LE.
2. When he showed for medical treatment for scratches, bruises, and
infected
scratcjes, and so on from head to toe, he told the treating physician
that he had
fallen from his yard tree that he had been trimming. No trees had been
trimmed.
3. The bondage ball, duct tape, rope, and other items have been
returned from the
lab. The DA won't use them until trial. So, I am figuring both Garcia
and Wilson's
DNA were on various articles.
4. Search was called off at TC. Re-located on a tip to an area that
only the professionals are permitted to enter. They are figuring to
find something and don't want tain allegations.
eartha...@yahoo.com
Murder suspect's explanations questioned in court
By: Penne Usher,
Auburn Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, December 4, 2005 2:45 AM PST
Suspected inaccuracies in accused murderer Mario Garcia's statements to
authorities and alleged erroneous media reports from this week's
preliminary hearing took center stage in an Auburn courtroom Friday.
The prosecution argued Friday that Garcia, who is suspected of
murdering 27-year-old Christie Wilson of Sacramento, may have lied to
detectives about injuries he sustained around the time Wilson
disappeared.
The court viewed photographs of Garcia taken at the Placer County
Sheriff's Department on Oct. 14 depicting multiple scratch wounds,
including what appeared to be four vertical marks, about four to five
inches in length on Garcia's left chest.
He was treated for the injuries a day after Wilson's disappearance at
the UC Davis Medical Group clinic in North Auburn. He reportedly told
officials he received the injuries and a black eye when he fell out of
a tree on his property while pruning.
Det. Bill Summers testified that a state certified arborist was called
to the Garcia property in Auburn and that there was no evidence of a
tree being recently pruned. Officials have said they believe the
injuries were consistent with a fight.
Wilson was last seen leaving the Thunder Valley Casino at 1:13 a.m. on
Oct. 5 with Garcia. She hasn't been heard from since.
DNA results from at least one hair found on Garcia's car determined the
hair belonged to Wilson, officials said early on in the investigation.
Officials served a search warrant at the Garcia home Oct. 11, Det.
Donald Pollock, of the Placer County Sheriff's office said Friday.
"We were looking for a light colored shirt, tan or olive pants and dark
shoes," he said.
Pollock requested the clothing Garcia had worn the night of Oct. 4 to
the casino.
"Mr. Garcia said those clothes weren't at the house," Pollock said.
Garcia reportedly told officials that he believed his wife had taken
them to the cleaners. When the same question was asked of Garcia's
wife, Jean Garcia, she reportedly told officials the clothes were in
the bedroom.
The inconsistency in the statement only further convinced Wilson's
mother, Debbie Boyd, that Garcia has been lying all along.
"He's been lying from the very beginning," Boyd said outside the
courtroom Friday. "He started lying by saying that he never saw
Christie after walking out the door at Thunder Valley Casino. Her hair
is in his trunk and wrapped around the door handle (of his car). Of
course he's going to lie about the clothing."
Pat Boyd, Wilson's stepfather, said whether the articles of clothing
taken from the Garcia home are the ones he wore the night of Oct. 4 may
not make much difference.
"The clothing doesn't much matter unless there is DNA found on it," he
said. "Whether they have the right shirt or not doesn't matter. If
there's DNA from Christie on the shirt then the shirt matters."
It is expected that DNA evidence will be presented to the court late
next week.
Aside from the conflicting statements or Garcia, the defense took issue
with the media's reporting of the court proceedings.
David Dratman, co-council for the defense, told the court Friday that
he was concerned with at least one local news station's "erroneous
information" in reporting, calling the unidentified station's news
story "irresponsible journalism."
The defense does have the option of proposing to the judge that media
be banned from further proceedings, although that hasn't happened yet.
Superior Court Judge Larry Gaddis expressed his displeasure and called
the report "very inaccurate."
The preliminary hearing is expected to continue at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in
Dept. 2 of Placer County Superior Court.