CA - Cliff Lambert, 74, murdered, Palm Springs, 30 Nov 2008 *Guilty* *New trial 2023*

[hoppyfrog]

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/03/sf_attorney_charged_in_palm_sp.php

10 March 09

Cliff Lambert, 74, was reported missing Dec. 7 after a friend failed to reach him. On Jan. 5 his Palm Springs home was fraudulently sold for less than $300,000, according to police accounts and real estate records. Lambert's house was also looted of artwork and other valuables, police said. A court has subsequently halted the home's sale, police said.

much, much more at link

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11895649

12 March 09

Four San Francisco men have been charged in an alleged plot to sell the home of an elderly Palm Springs man who is missing and feared dead.


Riverside County prosecutors say lawyer David Replogle impersonated 74-year-old Cliff Lambert to obtain power of attorney and sell Lambert's $1 million home to a co-defendant.

Lambert was last seen Nov. 30.

The 60-year-old Replogle and 27-year-old Kaushal Niroula pleaded not guilty Tuesday to forgery, impersonation, burglary and raiding the missing man's accounts. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are missing.
Arrests warrants have been issued for 67-year-old Russell Herbert Manning and 26-year-old Daniel Carlos Garcia.

 

[Tonia]

D.A.: There is 'Sufficient Evidence' to Charge Men with Murder

The District Attorney's Office has "sufficient evidence" to prosecute five men for allegedly conning and murdering a 74-year-old Palm Springs retiree to gain access to his financial assets, a spokesman said Friday.
"We believe these individuals were involved in the murder of Clifford Lambert," said Michael Jeandron of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
First-degree murder charges were filed Thursday against San Francisco-based attorney David Replogle, 60, alleged con man Kaushal Niroula, 27, Daniel Carlos Garcia, 26, and Russell Herbert Manning, who is a fugitive.
The four also face a special circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain, which gives prosecutors the option to pursue death sentences should the men be convicted of murdering Clifford Lambert, who was reported missing by a friend last Dec. 7.
Replogle, Niroula and Garcia, who are being held without bail, have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and other charges stemming from the fraudulent sale of the victim's home and the alleged theft of money from his accounts and items from the residence.
The District Attorney's Office plans to charge the fifth man, Miguel Adolfo DeLeon Bustamante, with first-degree murder and a burglary special circumstance allegation during his next court date on March 26, Jeandron said.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=9989304&nav=9qrxWyYX

More at link.

 

[Tonia]

Documents admissible in murder case, judge says

A judge ruled on Friday that some documents taken when a search warrant was served at the office of a San Francisco attorney, who is accused with four other men in the murder of a Palm Springs retiree, can be used in the prosecution of the case.


http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090502/NEWS0802/905020311/1006/news01

 

[Tonia]

Prosecutor: Man accused in Palm Springs homicide will not face death penalty

A man accused of accepting $5,000 to help kill an elderly Palm Springs man for his money will not face the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors said today.

Craig Anthony McCarthy, 29, will face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of murder and conspiracy in the Dec. 5 death of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090731/NEWS0802/90731026/-1/newsfront/Prosecutor--Man-accused-in-Palm-Springs-homicide-will-not-face-death-penalty

 

[Tonia]

Hearing held for suspects accused of killing retiree

One of five Bay Area men accused in the financially motivated homicide of a Palm Springs retiree stabbed him in the head, while two others who were the “muscle” of the group stood nearby, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Lisa DiMaria gave the account during a preliminary hearing for Kaushal Niroula, 27; David Replogle, 60; Miguel Bustamante, 26; Craig McCarthy, 29; and Daniel Garcia, 26.

The men are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy, and special circumstance allegations of committing a murder during a burglary and for financial gain, in the Dec. 6 slaying of Clifford Lambert, 74.

The district attorney's office has already ruled out seeking the death penalty for the five, who face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

The hearing, which is expected to take about two weeks, will determine whether there is enough evidence to take the case to trial.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090904/NEWS0802/909040321/1015/news08/Hearing-held-for-suspects-accused-of-killing-retiree

 

[Tonia]

Judge orders trial for five men accused in Palm Springs murder

All five men accused in the stabbing death of a Palm Springs retiree to steal his identity and his financial assets were ordered today to stand trial on murder and other charges.

San Francisco attorney David Replogle, Daniel Garcia, Miguel Bustamante, Kaushal Niroula and Craig McCarthy are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit a robbery in connection with the Dec. 5 slaying of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert.

Replogle and Garcia also face several charges stemming from the alleged fraudulent sale of Lambert’s home and the emptying of his bank accounts.

Niroula also faces several charges stemming from the alleged fraudulent sale of Lambert's home and the emptying of his bank accounts.

Following a nearly six-day-long preliminary hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Stroud ruled there was enough evidence to proceed with the case against the five.
The men could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090914/NEWS01/90914004/0/lifestyles0103/Updated--Judge-orders-trial-for-five-men-accused-in-Palm-Springs-murder

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Art dealer accused of bilking a missing Palm Springs man sentenced to five years
2/25/10

An art dealer accused of conspiring with five other men to bilk a Palm Springs retiree -- who is missing and presumed dead -- out of his financial assets, pleaded guilty today to fraud-related charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.

[snip]

Murder charges stemming from Lambert's apparent death were dropped against Manning in September, while the other men were ordered by a judge to stand trial for his slaying.

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/45703/

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Judge rules defendant in Palm Springs murder case can act as own attorney

A 28-year-old alleged con man who's accused, along with four other men, in the stabbing death of a Palm Springs retiree can act as his own attorney, a judge ruled Friday.

Kaushal Niroula — along with David Replogle, 60, Danny Garcia, 27, Miguel Bustamante, 27, and Craig McCarthy, 30 — face first-degree murder charges in the December 2008 death of Clifford Lambert.

More: http://www.mydesert.com/article/201...m-Springs-murder-case-can-act-as-own-attorney

 

[summer_breeze]

Project Jason

http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=5756.0

North American Missing Persons Network

http://www.nampn.org/cases/lambert_cliff.html

The Charley Project

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lambert_cliff.html

 

[summer_breeze]

http://www.mydesert.com/article/201...d-of-8216-vultures-picked-slain-retiree-clean

JESSICA E. DAVIS • City News Service • October 6, 2010

INDIO — A San Francisco attorney and a bartender were among a team of “vultures” who killed a Palm Springs retiree for his financial assets, a prosecutor told a jury Tuesday.

<snipped>

The three allegedly loaded Lambert's body into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz and buried him in the hills in Fontana.

 

[fran]

This poor old guy got himself caught up with some really bad people. Here's a link with a lot of the perp's crimes committed before this murder. There's several photos of all involved.

I'm going to look around and see what else I can find.

JMHO
fran


http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/kaushal_niroula/1.html

Kaushal Niroula & The Gay Grifters

Introduction

A gang of gay grifters has been accused of bilking victims in
California, Las Vegas and Hawaii for years, but the latest scam allegedly perpetrated by the deviously charming Kaushal Niroula and his friends, lovers and hangers-on might put the boys away for good. Niroula, 26, man-about-town Daniel Garcia, 27, attorney David Replogle, 60, art dealer Russell Manning, 67, bartender Miguel Bustamante, 26, and bartender and former Marine Craig McCarthy are jointly or individually suspected of a range of frauds and other crimes:

 

[fran]

Here is link to a bunch of articles written about this case and the perps. Interesting, especially some of the comments. Some contributors knew either the victim or the perps.

fran

PS....I just want to say, it's a shame that they haven't found the victim's body. One of the perps said they took him and buried him in Fontana. At one time he took LE to a location by a water tower, where he said they buried him, but they didn't find his body. I don't know if they've found it since. Most likely not because he's still on the missing person's sites....fran


http://www.sfweekly.com/related/to/Kaushal+Niroula/

Subject: Kaushal Niroula

 

[summer_breeze]

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/56100/

Friday, May 6th, 2011
Issue 18, Volume 15.

INDIO - Two men were sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the financially motivated stabbing death of a Palm Springs retiree.

Miguel Bustamante, 28, and David Replogle, 62, were both found guilty in January of the death of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert. Among other charges, they were also convicted of conspiracy, burglary and grand theft.

 

[summer_breeze]

http://www.kesq.com/news/27079359/detail.html

POSTED: 7:55 am PST March 4, 2011
UPDATED: 11:26 am PST March 4, 2011

<snipped>

Miguel Bustamante and David Replogle were both found guilty in January of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the death of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert.

 

[KateB]

An older article that I didn't see posted: http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2010/08/31/killer-now-key-witness-in-dark-prince-murder/

McCarthy, Niroula, Replogle and two other men are accused of taking part in a brazen scam they dubbed “Operation Craigslist” or “Operation C.L.,” the latter a reference to the 74-year-old victim’s initials. Prosecutors said the crew decided to kill Lambert, sell his home and take all his assets.

A 90 page pdf of an appeal filed 2/25/2014 for David Replogle is online here:
www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/E053711.PDF

I've not read it yet, but wonder if there are clues to where Cliff's body may be located in all those details.
Bumping for 6 years.

 

[carbuff]

The sheriff's department original press release and updates: *2nd Update* #LASD Homicide Investigates Discovery of Poss Human Remains, Templin Hwy/Old Ridge ... from LASD - Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept Information Bureau (SIB) : Nixle

This article mentions the remains were "very old": https://signalscv.com/2017/04/skull-discovery-prompts-probe-homicide-detectives/

This article has a picture of the general area: https://mynewsla.com/crime/2017/04/28/adult-skull-teeth-found-lake-hughes-remains-search-no-id-yet/

This has a diagram of where the remains were found. ‘Partial Human Remains’ Discovered in Lake Hughes Area; Investigation Underway

I didn't find an entry in Namus or any recent articles.

 

[mlhenn]

Clifford Lambert – The Charley Project


Clifford Lambert
RESOLVED

Lambert's skull and jawbone were found separately near Castaic, California in 2016 and 2017. They were identified as his in September 2020.

Last updated January 30, 2021; case resolved.

 

[Darling136]

Adding msm

A skull and jawbone found near the city of Castaic are from the body of Clifford Lambert, 74, who vanished in 2008, Deputy District Attorney Robert Hightower said during a court hearing in Indio on Wednesday. The bones were found in 2016 and 2017 but a DNA match was not confirmed until Tuesday, he said.

Palm Springs socialite Clifford Lambert's remains identified nearly a decade after his death

 

[JerseyGirl]

A May 14 trial date was set today for one of four men granted a retrial on charges stemming from the 2008 financially motivated killing of a Palm Springs retiree in which they were previously convicted.

Daniel Carlos Garcia, 38, and three others were granted a retrial last year following allegations that the judge who had presided over the case was biased against one of the defendants, which allowed all four a pathway to
securing new trials.

Garcia, who is defending himself, will be tried first at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. The other defendants -- Kaushal Niroula, 39, Miguel Bustamante, 38, and David Replogle, 72 -- are scheduled to return to court that

Trial date set For man accused in 2008 Palm Springs retiree slaying - KESQ

 

[Melt71]

I emailed the LA MEC and received a response - seems like this case might have been in Namus but not made public:
"Thank you for the email. This Doe case was identified in 2020 and was removed from NamUs at the time of his identification."