Day 8 - May 27, 2022

Final Arguments, Jury Deliberations, and Guilty Verdicts

13Proceedings

7Pages

0Witnesses

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Day 8 of 8

Appearing:

Final instructions and closing arguments preceded guilty verdicts on all three charged counts. All 12 jurors affirmed the verdicts in a poll, and the court ordered a presentence investigation.

Full day summary

Judge Wheeler gave final instructions on the charged offenses, lesser included homicide offenses, principal liability, reasonable doubt, and evaluating testimony before the parties delivered their closing arguments. Georgia Cappleman argued that the State's evidence linked Katherine Magbanua to the alleged murder-for-hire scheme, while Tara Kawass argued that the case rested on disputed inferences and Luis Rivera's account. Cappleman replied in rebuttal, asking jurors to decide the case from admitted evidence. After deliberations began, the jury received an exhibit inventory and heard a requested playback of Exhibit 116. The jury returned guilty verdicts on first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. Each of the 12 jurors affirmed the verdict in a poll. The court ordered a presentence investigation and deferred sentencing for approximately 30 days.

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Procedural

Verdict Form Correction and Jury Instruction Copy Distribution

18 lines

Judge Wheeler corrected Count 3's verdict-form lettering and confirmed instruction copies were ready before bringing in the jury.

Jury Instruction

Jury Instructions (Final)

6 lines

The court instructed jurors on the charges, reasonable doubt, witness evaluation, deliberation rules, and verdict options before closing arguments.

Closing

Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman Georgia Cappleman

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The State argued that phone, financial, rental-car, witness, and recorded-call evidence showed Magbanua acted as an intermediary in the alleged murder-for-hire conspiracy and asked for guilty verdicts on all charges.

Closing

Closing Argument - Tara Kawass Tara Kawass

32 lines

Kawass argued that the State's case rested on unreliable testimony and disputed inferences, then asked jurors to find Magbanua not guilty on all counts.

Rebuttal

Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Georgia Cappleman

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Cappleman urged jurors to rely on admitted evidence, reject the defense's coincidence theory, and find Katherine Magbanua guilty.

Jury Instruction

Deliberation Guidance and Alternate Juror Discharge

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Judge Wheeler gave final deliberation guidance and discharged two alternate jurors before deliberations began.

Procedural

Jury Deliberation and Exhibit Administration

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After jurors left to deliberate, counsel reviewed the exhibits and verdict form; separate Court exhibits were placed in the file and withheld from the jury.

Procedural

Jury Question 1 - Exhibit Inventory Request

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The court sent the jury an unopposed, court-marked exhibit inventory sheet to assist its review.

Procedural

Jury Question 2 - Exhibit 116 Playback

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The court denied a request to clear the courtroom and played Exhibit 116 for the deliberating jury using headphones.

Verdict

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The jury found Katherine Magbanua guilty on all three charged counts.

jury poll