GUILTY CA - Christie Wilson, 27, murdered, Roseville, 5 Oct 2005 *found in 2020*

[chicoliving]

A jury has been impaneled for the trial of murder defendant Mario Garcia.
~snip~
Ten men and two women will sit on the jury. Another five alternates will be selected Wednesday.

Over the course of two days, 47 prospective jurors were dismissed by the judge or by defense and prosecuting attorneys for various reasons.

On Monday, Garcia's attorney, Ron Peters told prospective jurors that his client would take the stand in his defense during his trial. He reiterated that to jurors again on Tuesday. "He wants to tell his side of what happened and he'll be exonerated when he does," said Peters.

http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20118

 

[Bobbisangel]

He's going to take the stand! I would just love to hear what he has to say.
I wonder how he will explain that hair of hers in his trunk?

 

[chicoliving]

He's going to take the stand! I would just love to hear what he has to say.
I wonder how he will explain that hair of hers in his trunk?

That's what his attorney says now lol I'll believe it when I see it though. The defense will blame the victim in this trial I fear. 10 men and 2 women on the jury....I think the men will see thru him. It's gonna get ugly, its the only way for this defense to play out, imo.

 

[Niner]

I believe I'm going to go to court when Garcia starts to testify!! I'll hopefully take some GOOD notes for you all here!! I'm not going to the Opening Statements, as I'm going to take off from work for the Paul Kovacich trial that's going to start IN Auburn in October, I believe. It's a LOT closer to home than the Sacramento courthouse... TOO much traffic downtown!! or actually - the freeways down there!! LOL

 

[chicoliving]

Jury Trial Update

Opening statements begin Mon, Sept. 25 @ 9am in Dept. 41 of Sacramento County Superior Court. Debbie Boyd & family testify Tues, 9/26. Courthouse location: 720 Ninth St. Sacramento, CA - Fifth floor/Dept 41 http://www.saccourt.com/geninfo/location/downtown.asp


http://www.findchristiewilson.com/news.asp#Jury_Trial_Update

 

[Niner]

chico - are you going to go to this trial? I'd love to go, but I have a ton of meetings both on Monday, 9/25 AND Tuesday the 26th... shoot!

 

[chicoliving]

chico - are you going to go to this trial? I'd love to go, but I have a ton of meetings both on Monday, 9/25 AND Tuesday the 26th... shoot!

It's hubby's birthday the 25th and we have celebrations planned for those two evenings...and we're still harvesting to boot. So right now I'm not sure when I'll be able to pop down but I do still plan to.

 

[Niner]

It's hubby's birthday the 25th and we have celebrations planned for those two evenings...and we're still harvesting to boot. So right now I'm not sure when I'll be able to pop down but I do still plan to.

well, please let me know when you do!! I'll try and get down there also! :dance:

 

[chicoliving]

Prosecutor's extra burden: Proving to jurors the Auburn man killed a young woman, though her body has not been found.

~snip~
The central mystery still at the heart of Wilson's disappearance is what happened to her last October and why her body has not been found.
Though relatively scarce, several "no-body homicides," a term lawyers use to describe such cases, have been tried in the Sacramento region in recent years. Such cases present special challenges for prosecutors and opportunities for defense lawyers.

"As a prosecutor, you have to show the jury there won't be a body but you can still have proof beyond a reasonable doubt," said UC Davis Law School professor Edward Imwinkelried, an expert on courtroom evidence. On the other hand, he said, "Jurors can regard the lack of a body itself as a source of reasonable doubt."

more at link
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/28436.html

 

[chicoliving]

Christie Wilson’s body has not been found, but that’s not stopping Placer County prosecutors from going forward Monday with a murder trial against 54-year-old Mario Garcia.

Opening arguments in the case are expected to begin at 9 a.m. in a Sacramento County superior courtroom. The jury, which was chosen last week, is made up of 10 men and two women. Garcia’s defense attorney, Ron Peters, told jurors last week that his client will take the stand in his own defense.

timeline and more at link
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20156

 

[chicoliving]

The boyfriend of missing woman, Christie Wilson, told a Sacramento courtroom this afternoon that he and Wilson had an "electric relationship."

Daniel Burlando, 31, is the first witness in the trial of Mario Garcia, the 54-year-old Auburn man charged with Wilson's murder.

Burlando said he and Wilson met while playing blackjack at Cache Creek Casino in September 2004. He said they had "great chemistry, great times together." However, he did admit that they fought and that sometimes their arguments turned violent. One altercation in March 2005 left Burlando with scratches and Wilson with a bruise on her arm.

much more at link
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20243

 

[chicoliving]

Prosecutor Garen Horst said hairs and bloodstains allegedly found in Garcia's car proved Wilson had been there. He called the car a crime scene.

"In this case, the forensic evidence will tell a story about what happened to Christie Wilson," Horst told jurors Monday.

Defense lawyer Ron Peters said Garcia had met Wilson while gambling and befriended her, but he had nothing to do with the woman's disappearance.

Garcia was a man "in the wrong place at the wrong time," who investigators have been determined to convict, he said.

Peters portrayed Wilson as a troubled young woman with an abusive boyfriend whose fate was still unknown.

"Nobody in this room knows whether or not she's dead," Peters said in court.

more at link
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/29089.html

 

[chicoliving]

Looks like the main evidence is hairs and blood in the car....

Horst also showed the jury pictures of Garcia's car and hairs found on the door handle, in the trunk and on the passenger side floorboard. He said evidence will show the hairs are a DNA match to Wilson. In addition, jurors saw pictures and diagrams of blood stains from the backseat of Garcia's car. Horst explained some Garcia's blood and some samples were a mix of Wilson's and Garcia's blood.

http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20243

 

[chicoliving]

Garcia contends that he and Wilson parted ways in the parking lot and Wilson returned to retrieve her cell phone she left inside the casino.

Peters went on to elude that if the car was a "crime scene," as Horst portrayed it in earlier statements, that the "so-called" evidence may have been planted.

"If the car was a crime scene it was a bungled crime scene," Peters said. "When (Garcia) drove the car to the (Sheriff's Department) the hair wasn't there."

Peters focused his attention on Wilson's boyfriend, Daniel Burlando, who filed a missing persons report with the Sacramento Police Department Oct. 6, 48 hours after Wilson's disappearance.

more at link
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/09/26/news/top_stories/01garcia26.txt

So far seems like the usual defense....LE screwed up, some one else did it and she was never in her car and the hairs/stains were planted. ho hum but I really didn't expect much better.

 

[chicoliving]

The mother of missing woman, Christie Wilson, has taken the stand in the trial of her daughter's accused killer.

Debra Boyd, dressed in a plum suit and wearing dark glasses, started by identifying her pictures of her daughter. She described Wilson as driven, organized and goal-oriented even as a child.

Boyd said she and her daughter typically didn't go more than two days without talking, but she also said they sometimes had disagreements. "Like many 27-year-olds [Christie] didn't appreciate mother's advice," Boyd said.

more at link
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20277

 

[chicoliving]

The jury in the murder trial of missing woman Christie Wilson heard her voice for the first time in a recording of one of her last phone conversations.

The conversation of Wilson talking to a company about ordering some self-help tapes was offered into evidence during the testimony of Wilson's mother, Debra Boyd.

more at link
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20277

 

[Niner]

thanks Chico for posting all these urls! I am SO behind on following these crimes... TOO MUCH WORK!! LOL!

If you hear WHEN Garcia is going to take the stand - let me know, cause I want to go to court that day!! Thanks! :dance:

 

[chicoliving]

The mother of missing woman Christie Wilson faced questioning from the defense attorney representing her daughter's alleged murderer Wednesday morning. As attorney Ron Peters worked to ascertain Wilson's frame of mind before her disappearance, the exchange between the attorney and mother grew heated at times.
~snip~
Wilson's sister Stacie was the first witness to testify in the afternoon session. Under Horst's questioning, Stacie Wilson told the court the sisters saw each other weekly and took kick-boxing classes together. She testified her sister was able to defend herself, saying she was "aggressive." Stacie Wilson said she talked on the phone with Christie on October 4 and Christie was excited about a job interview. Horst ended with asking Stacie wilson if she had seen her sister and if she was in the state of mind to take her own life. Wilson answered "no."

more at link
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20312

 

[chicoliving]

~snip~
During a line of questioning that focused on Burlando's relationship with Wilson, Burlando became vague in his responses.

"I request that you order the defendant to answer the question," Peters told the court. He quickly corrected himself and changed "defendant" to witness.

Throughout the morning proceedings, Peters continued to question Burlando as if he were on trial for Wilson's murder.

Burlando testified that he left Wilson the evening of Oct. 4, 2005 for a dinner engagement at his parents' home. He said he last heard from Wilson around 10:30 p.m. that night. Burlando testified that when she didn't return to his Sacramento apartment, he became worried and eventually called area hospitals, jails, family and friends.

more at link
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/09/27/news/top_stories/02garcia27.txt

 

[concernedperson]

It looks like the Defense Attorney is looking for reasonable doubt although DNA in the car and trunk might be a dead giveaway. I wish that would say where Christie is and save her family from more pain.

But, do they ever do the right thing? One instance lately...Barton Corbin confessed to killing his wife and girlfriend. This is, honestly, the first I can remember in a long time.

Mostly, we see coverups. I know I am not on the jury but we have seen video and have DNA and timelines.

I wish she could go home.