Capobianco files appeal of murder conviction
Convicted murderer Steven Capobianco is raising issues of prosecutorial and juror misconduct in appealing his conviction and seeking a new trial.
In an opening brief filed Feb. 3 by attorney Gerald Johnson in the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, Capobianco alleges he was denied a fair trial when he was found guilty in December 2016 of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and setting fire to her vehicle.
He was the last person known to have seen 27-year-old Carly “Charli” Scott alive.
He told police that on the night of Feb. 9, 2014, she drove him from Haiku to about 3 miles past Keanae, where he said his truck had stalled the night before. After fixing a loose battery cable on his truck, Capobianco said he was driving back to Haiku, with Scott following, when he lost sight of her headlights in the Twin Falls area.
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In alleging prosecutorial misconduct, the brief refers to testimony that Capobianco was a drug dealer, the failure to allow cellphone records of Scott’s half-sister to be admitted as evidence and statements made during closing arguments in the case.
In alleging juror misconduct, the brief says that after a jury communication to the court Dec. 13, 2016, indicating jurors couldn’t reach a verdict, one juror “called the court and then spoke on the phone with nine or 10 other jurors regarding what had occurred during deliberating.”
During a hearing with attorneys and the judge the next morning, the juror expressed needing more time to deliberate, Judge Cardoza said during a court hearing. A communication was sent to the jury asking whether further deliberations would help them reach a verdict, and they continued deliberating.
Capobianco files appeal of murder conviction | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News
