I've seen a lot of optimism on these boards about how the jury will resolve this case. I share the belief that Magbanua and Garcia are guilty and should get the max punishment for what they did. I'd regard that as justice having been done.
That said, while I am not a crim law specialist, I want to encourage people to manage expectations somewhat because the evidence so far has been good, and in some cases very damning for the defendants, my view is it's not overwhelming. This isn't to say that it's not enough for reasonable doubt, but just that I could see a jury going the other way given how high the RD standard is. The phone calls today, for example, seemed pretty inconclusive. Factually, I'm pretty confident they reflect guilty people panicking; but the actual content of the calls does not have a smoking gun that proves beyond any doubt that CA, KM and DA conspired to commit a murder. DA and CA in particular were clearly very careful not to say anything on the phone that could hang them, and to my frustration I think they succeeded.
That said, RD is a holistic standard. The jury will have to consider not the calls in isolation, but in combination with LG's testimony plus all the other evidence. I think there's a good case to be made for guilt on all charges, but I've seen instances where juries acquit in the absence of the classic smoking gun--DNA or video evidence, the former in particular which juries increasingly seem to expect as part of a criminal case.
The other issue is that where, as here, lesser charges are available, juries may return a guilty verdict but on a lesser offense like manslaughter, which means less punishment. Even that though would be a good outcome because it would mean SG and KM would go to jail, hopefully for a long time; and it would mean they were found culpable for the murder by a court, which would mean that the conspiracy theory of the case was validated. If they are acquitted then it would be virtually impossible to go after CA and DA.
I remain hopeful. I think the prosecution has done a good job. These two are pretty clearly factually guilty; as a matter of law, though, things can get sticky with all the safeguards criminal defendants have in our system.
