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2005 Wilson, Christie October 5 2005
Topic Started: Jul 19 2006, 10:13 AM (774 Views)
Dianne
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http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006...es/01wilson.txt

Wilson mystery to hit prime time
National TV show airs spot about casino disappearance

By: Penne Usher, Journal Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 2:35 AM PST


Information about the ongoing search for Christie Wilson, presumed to have been murdered, can be found at the Web site findchristiewilson.com. Her family will hold a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. March 11 at Auburn's Historic Courthouse. Courtesy Photo
The disappearance of 27-year-old Christie Wilson, last seen at a Lincoln casino Oct. 5, will be the focus of "48 Hours Mystery" and air on national TV Saturday.

The segment will also scrutinize the past of Mario F. Garcia, the man who stands accused of her murder.

"The Highest Stakes" is set to air locally at 10 p.m. Saturday on KOVR TV channel 13. According to CBS news press representative March Erhard, the segment features several interviews with individuals from Garcia's past.'48 Hours Mystery'
What: Focus on the disappearance of 27-year-old Christie Wilson, and on her alleged murderer
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Channel: KOVR-13


"We interview Wendy Ward, who alleged that Mario Garcia raped her in 1979," Erhard said by phone Tuesday afternoon. "She talks for the first time about the ordeal."

Garcia was never convicted of rape for the 1979 incident. In 1981 he was convicted of a lesser charge, assault with a deadly weapon, and spent more than a year on probation, officials said. Those charges were reduced to a misdemeanor in 1985.

Just months after the alleged rape, two women drowned in the Oakland Estuary. Garcia was in the vehicle. Tom Davis lost his mother and sister in the incident. He will talk about his loss and the bizarre circumstances surrounding their deaths.


John Cave is now retired from the Oakland Police Department, but in 1979 he investigated the women's deaths. Cave said Tuesday in a telephone interview that he believes Garcia was driving that fatal night.

Lynette Smith and her mother Violet Davis had reportedly gone to dinner with Garcia.

"They were out on Christmas night and somehow ended up on Doolittle Drive in the city of Oakland and drove off into the estuary," Cave said. "The two women in the car died and Mario survived."

He said authorities could not prove who was driving the car, and Garcia was never charged in connection with the case.

"We had a suspicion who the driver was but we could never prove it," Cave said. "Mario was swimming in the estuary when the rescuers arrived."

The body of Violet Davis was found in the back seat and Smith's body surfaced more than a week later, Cave said.

Christie Wilson's family was interviewed for the show and hopes it helps to locate her body. They are convinced she has been murdered.

"If this could lead us to Christie's whereabouts ...," said Wilson's mother, Debbie Boyd. "We haven't found Christie and first and foremost that's what is in our minds."

Garcia was arrested for her murder Oct. 14. Following a December preliminary hearing it was determined that there was enough evidence to hold Garcia to answer to the murder charge.

Because of extensive media coverage in Auburn and Placer County the case will be heard in a Sacramento courtroom in April. With media coverage now hitting primetime national TV, prosecutors hope it won't taint a Sacramento jury pool.

"We want the defendant judged on the evidence presented at trial, not anything portrayed in the media," said Garen Horst, deputy district attorney for Placer County.

Garcia's attorneys did not return phone calls by press time Tuesday.

For nearly five months law enforcement and volunteers have searched hundreds of miles of grasslands, lakes, rivers, culverts and mountainous terrain to no avail. Wilson's body has not been found.

Garcia remain in Placer County Jail on $3 million bail. His trial is expected to begin in late April in Sacramento.

The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com.

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Dianne
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http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006...s/01vigil10.txt

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Holding vigil for Christie Wilson
Garcia's attorneys trying to suppress case evidence

By: Penne Usher, Journal Staff Writer
Friday, March 10, 2006 12:26 AM PST


From left, Christie Wilson's sister Stacie Wilson, father Pat Boyd and mother Debbie Boyd are holding a vigil for the woman missing since Oct. 5. Journal File Photo
A recently aired "48 Hours Mystery" TV episode brought national attention to the case of missing 27-year-old Christie Wilson. Now her family hopes to shine new light on her case and keep her memory alive with a candlelight vigil Saturday in Auburn.

Wilson was last seen on videotape walking out of the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln in the early morning hours of Oct. 5 with Mario Garcia. The 53-year-old Auburn man has been charged with her murder and is scheduled to stand trial April 24 in a Sacramento courthouse.

Garcia's attorneys have filed a motion to suppress evidence they say was illegally obtained. That motion will be reviewed within the next few weeks by the court.

Debbie Boyd, Wilson's mother, is inviting the community to join her at 6 p.m. Saturday in front of Auburn's Historic Courthouse.

"We want to show that Christie may be missing, but is not forgotten," Boyd said.

Several members of the community plan to attend the vigil, including Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner, Brad Fenocchio, Placer County district attorney and the family of murder victim Justine Vanderschoot.

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"We want to be there, meet the Boyd family and give them our support," said Justine's father, Don Vanderschoot.

The body of 17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot was found in a shallow grave in September 2004 near Applegate. Danny Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez are both serving lengthy prison terms for her brutal murder.

Just more than two years after the Vanderschoot murder Christie Wilson disappeared.

Boyd watched the one-hour TV show last weekend that focused on her daughter's case and Garcia's past.

Wendy Ward was interviewed for the show and alleged that Garcia raped her in 1979. He was never convicted of rape, but in 1981 was convicted of a lesser charge, assault with a deadly weapon. Garcia was also connected to an incident in which two women drowned in the Oakland Estuary.

"I was pretty overwhelmed by (Garcia's) past, Boyd said. "To hear about it is one thing - but to hear the victims speak is another."

In the days since the segment aired numerous calls have come into the Journal offices from around the country from people asking to speak to the Boyd family.

Roger Montague, of Missouri, said he lost his daughter to violence.

"The 48 Hours show really hit home," Montague said. "I'd like to offer the family some help."

Boyd wondered if Garcia was getting her message.

"I hope he realizes we aren't going away," she said.

The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com.
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Dianne
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http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006...s/04student.txt

E.V. Cain girl swept up in murder probe
Mother outraged at treatment as police ask for uncle's information

By: Loryll Nicolaisen, Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, March 19, 2006 8:53 AM PST



The mother of an E.V. Cain Middle School seventh-grader is outraged by how her daughter was treated earlier this week by an Auburn Police Department detective.

In an e-mail received by the Auburn Journal Thursday, Sara Etchieson states her 12-year-old daughter was called out of class Monday, signed out of school and taken home by Auburn Police Detective Joe Rangel to obtain contact information for an uncle believed to be a person of interest in the Oct. 5 disappearance of 27-year-old Christie Wilson.

"I am horrified that this officer felt it was right to take my daughter. She was not under arrest, investigation or in some type of danger," Etchieson said in the e-mail. "He completely overstepped his bounds as an officer of the law to try and get his information, which no one was resisting to give."

Rangel could not be reached for comment.

Auburn Police Chief Valerie Harris said Friday afternoon that Etchieson has filed a formal complaint with the police department, and because of that, she could not offer much information.

"We will continue to investigate further," Harris said. Upon first glance, it doesn't appear the school or the police department are in violation of any rule or regulation, she said.


Harris also clarified that the incident under investigation occurred Tuesday, not Monday.

Tom Beattie, Placer County supervising deputy district attorney, explained Friday that the girl's uncle matched the description of a black, wheelchair-bound man seen on surveillance footage entering the Thunder Valley Casino shortly after Christie Wilson, of Sacramento, left.

Wilson was last seen on videotape walking out of the Lincoln casino shortly after 1 a.m. Oct 5 with Mario F. Garcia. Wilson has yet to be found and Garcia, 53, of Auburn, has been charged with her murder.

Videotape shows Garcia and Wilson walking out of range and about a minute later, an unidentified black man in a wheelchair is shown approaching the casino, Beattie said.

The District Attorney's Office contacted the Auburn Police Department seeking anyone who could track down the man's whereabouts, Beattie said. Rangel, a resource officer at E.V. Cain Middle School, responded that he knew of the girl and later obtained contacts for the man in question, who, as it turns out, was not at Thunder Valley Casino the night of Wilson's disappearance.

"I didn't even know that he was checking her out of school," Beattie said Friday of Rangel and the student. "I'm sorry this ended up the way it has. I think he was certainly acting in good faith and hopefully he doesn't face any repercussions for assisting us."

Police Chief Harris confirmed that Rangel contacted the student at school, and once it was established that the student could provide contact information for her uncle, contact was made with the girl's stepmother.

Since the father and stepmother's residence was determined to be the student's residence, it was also determined that the stepmother was a proper contact. The stepmother was able to provide contact information for the girl's uncle.

"That in and of itself was considered notification of a parent," Harris said. "Because of the nature of the case, the officer chose to make personal contact with the child to obtain that information."

Etchieson, in her e-mail to the Journal, said she is upset that permission to check her daughter out of school was not obtained by herself, the girl's father or stepmother.

"At no time were we informed that she was taken from school," she wrote.

Etchieson said the experience of leaving school in a police vehicle humiliated her daughter.

"This is not the wild west," she wrote. "Police need to follow rules and regulations."

Laurie Hockenson, E.V. Cain principal, said Friday that school officials opt to comply with law enforcement.

"That's the bottom line - when they conduct an investigation we cooperate," she said. "I am very trusting that they're doing their job and they're keeping us safe."

Michele Schuetz, superintendent of the Auburn Union Elementary School District, said police investigations don't warrant extensive explanation to the schools in incidents like the one at E.V. Cain.

"It wasn't a school issue. We don't interfere with police investigation," she said.

Etchieson said Saturday that she intends to file a complaint with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and also plans to contact the American Civil Liberties Union. She feels her daughter's civil rights were violated.

"What day and age do we live in when a police officer can come to school, sign your child out and take her for a ride?" she said. "There was no reason for them to take her. It could have been handled so many other ways."

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Dianne
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/breakingnews...-15061636c.html

Auburn attorneys Nina Salarno Ashford and Corecia Woo had scheduled a news conference today to talk about the intended suit but, instead, announced its postponement. They confirmed that the suit would be filed on behalf of Wilson's mother, Debbie Boyd, and Wilson's stepfather, Patrick Boyd, both of Gilroy. Neither the attorneys nor the Boyds would discuss the contents of the pending suit.
Wilson was last seen on videotape leaving the casino with Garcia at 1:13 a.m.

Also today, Placer Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis continued a hearing to Monday on a request by Garcia's attorney to suppress potential trace evidence involving a stain found in Garcia's car Jan. 5.

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Dianne
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http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=16999

Garcia's Attorneys Argue Against Warrantless Search of Car
Written for the web by C. Johnson, Internet News Producer

Defense attorneys for Mario Garcia, the man charged with the murder of Christie Wilson, are seeking to suppress bloodstain evidence taken from the backseat of his car.

In Placer County Superior Court Wednesday afternoon, Garcia's attorneys argued the evidence was obtained without a warrant and should be inadmissable.

According to prosecution testimony, Placer County Sheriff's Department investigators first obtained consent and served a warrant to search Garcia's white Toyota Camry on October 11, 2005. That was six days after the 27-year-old Wilson was last seen on surveillance video at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln. She was observed in the parking lot of the casino with the 53-year-old Garcia, with whom she had spent several hours gambling. Despite extensive searches, Wilson has not been seen since. Garcia has been charged with her murder and awaits trial in June.

At issue in Wednesday's hearing was a second, warrantless search of the backseat of Garcia's car conducted by the Department of Justice on January 6. According to testimony, the state agency was brought in at the request of Placer County crime scene investigators to conduct a more thorough analysis for body fluids.

Attorneys for Garcia contend the second search should be inadmissable because there was no warrant. Prosecutors said the warrant and consent for the first search covered the second search. They also argued the search was legal because the car was used in the commission of a crime.

During the January 6 search, investigators determined a small stain on the backseat cushion behind the driver's seat was blood. The back seat was removed and sent to the DOJ's laboratory for further analysis.

Sheriff Detective Bill Summers also testified it appeared the Camry had been cleaned and vacuumed when the first search was conducted.

Testimony also revealed that investigators obtained a warrant to search Garcia's car a third time on February 10.

After three hours of testimony, court was adjourned for the day. The hearing is scheduled to continue on Monday, April 17 in Auburn.

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When to Say Goodbye – Christie Wilson's Parents Speak

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

By Jessica Thy Nguyen Special to the Dispatch

Gilroy - Eleven months have passed since Christie Wilson was first reported missing, and now all her parents want is closure.

Wilson, then 27, was last seen on videotape at 1:15am, Oct. 5, 2005, walking out to the parking lot of Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln. She was seen walking with a man whom police later identified as Mario Flavio Garcia, 53, a resident of Auburn.

"We just want our daughter's remains to be recovered and for the suspect to be convicted," said Wilson's mother Debbie Boyd.

Preliminary hearings have been held and jury selection for Garcia's murder trial began Monday in Sacramento.

He was formally charged with Wilson's murder Nov. 1, 2005, even though Wilson's body has still not been found.

The deputy district attorney prosecuting the case has said that he believes there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to convict Garcia.

"Her hair was found inside the trunk of his vehicle, as well as on the right passenger door handle, lodged behind the handle, and also in the back seat," Wilson's mother said.

Boyd said she had last seen her daughter a week and a half before the disappearance. They had spent the entire weekend together, had lunch and gotten pedicures.

During preliminary hearings, defense attorneys brought up Wilson's tumultuous relationship and implied she might have committed suicide.

"That's one thing she wouldn't do - check out, never call her family again, never retrieve cell phone messages, never access her bank account, and leave her BMW, which was her little baby," Boyd said of her daughter. "Leave her little BMW in a casino and just take off and never speak to anybody again. She was so close to her family, she would never."

The Boyds fully believe police have caught the right suspect and want justice for their daughter.

"We can't disclose any of the evidence police have," Boyd said. "But based on what we are aware of, we know that she has passed."

Now all they want is closure in order to give their daughter a proper burial.

"That's the problem now," Boyd said. "Our hope has gotten less about finding her. That's the impossibility for the family. When do you say goodbye or when do you bury somebody?

"You need to grieve, you need to provide a respectful funeral," she said.

Family members have experienced a roller coaster of emotions throughout the last 11 months, awaiting news of the recovery of her remains, and attending court hearings as the case winds its way through the criminal justice system.

"We've always thought that some hunter, some fisherman was gonna walk across and find her," Wilson's step-father, Pat Boyd said. "And as time has gone on, it would be harder and harder.

"The first few weeks there was more hope, because obviously when somebody is dead and laying somewhere, there's an obvious odor or smell," he said. "They're gonna stand out more, but as time's gone on animals may have moved her bones or he's buried her."

The entire family is grateful for the community support and law enforcement efforts to find Wilson's remains. From this experience of a mother's worst nightmare, Boyd said, "One of the messages that I want to be sure to get out there, especially for young women, when you're going out be sure you have a plan … because anything can happen."

"We were just an ordinary family," she said. "Living out our lives, hard working people before October, and if something like this can hit our family, it can hit anybody's."



http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=194459
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Lawyers tackle location of Wilson


By: Penne Usher, Journal Staff Writer
Monday, October 23, 2006 10:55 PM PDT


Mario GarciaSACRAMENTO - Witnesses testified Monday that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of locations in Placer County where a body could be dumped and never found during week five of the murder case against Mario Garcia.

The 54-year-old Auburn man is standing trial for the murder of 27-year-old Christie Wilson.

Lt. Rich Tornberry, who oversees the Placer County Sheriff Department's search-and-rescue team, took the stand Monday afternoon and testified that finding a body in Placer County's steep, rugged terrain with remote areas, rocky cliffs and hundreds of mine shafts is complicated at best.

He said that hundreds of volunteers on foot and horseback along with air support and cadaver dogs searched hundreds of miles of Placer County looking for Wilson or anything that could lead them to her.

Prosecutor Garen Horst asked Tornberry if searchers found anything related to Wilson.

"No, we never did," he said.

Wilson was last seen on video surveillance tape leaving the Thunder Valley Casino at 1:13 a.m. Oct. 5, 2005 with Garcia. She has not been seen or heard from since and is presumed dead.

Garcia was charged with her murder Oct. 28, 2005. His attorney, Ron Peters, has maintained Garcia's innocence and has said his client and Wilson parted ways in the parking lot of the casino.

According to previous testimony there is no indication that Wilson returned to the casino or to her BMW that was parked in the casino lot.

Initially, Wilson was considered a missing person and authorities launched searches in and around the casino. Lt. George Malim of the Placer County Sheriff's Department testified Monday that the media played an important roll in attempting to find witnesses as well as Wilson.

Horst asked Malim how he would characterize the media coverage in the case.

"In my experience the coverage was unprecedented," Malim testified.

The case received wide local TV and newspaper coverage as well as national attention from CNN and "48 Hours."

The case was moved from Placer County to Sacramento due to extensive pre-trial publicity.

Air operations pilot, Deputy Von Bogardus, was next to take the stand and testified about areas he flew over searching for Wilson.

He spoke of numerous remote areas that were searched by air.

"We try to do a detailed search if we can," he said. "It's very difficult to search for a body from the air."

Videotaped footage of search areas was shown to the jurors to illustrate the diverse terrain in Placer County. Expansive grasslands surround the Thunder Valley Casino and a few miles away cliffs drop off into steep canyons.

"I've searched for a body and even knowing where it was it took two days to find it," Bogardus testified.

Additionally, the jurors viewed aerial footage of multiple mine shafts in and around Placer County - locations where a body could be dumped.

"Some (of the mines) go miles into the earth," Bogardus said.

Garcia's attorney, Ron Peters, voiced few objections during Monday's testimony. On cross examination of Bogardus Peters asked the deputy what was the smallest object he's located while on a search.

"All I've searched for are bodies," Bogardus replied.

The final witness of the day was Det. Bill Summers of the Placer County Sheriff's Department. He testified that when he examined Garcia's white Toyota Camry, the car Garcia said he was driving the night of Oct. 5, 2005, it "appeared to be very clean both the interior and the exterior."

A hair lodged in the passenger-side door handle of Garcia's white Toyota Camry tested positive through DNA analysis to belong to Wilson, officials have said.

As a photograph of the hair and door handle was shown to the jury, Wilson's mother, Debbie Boyd, made a quick retreat from the courtroom. She appeared shaken by the image.

Wilson's family has been in court daily, but have declined to speak to the media for the duration of the trial.

Garcia's wife, Jean Garcia, has also attended regularly usually accompanied by an unidentified friend.

DNA evidence, including blood and other "samples" is expected to be brought before the jury. Horst said in his opening statements that samples from the backseat of Garcia's vehicle tested positive for Wilson's DNA.

Garcia is being held on $3 million bail and is being housed at the Sacramento County Jail throughout the trial, which is expected to last through mid- November.

http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006.../02garcia24.txt
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Endangered Missing Adult



If you believe you have any information regarding this case that will be helpful in this investigation please contact:
Placer County Sheriff's Department at (530) 889-7800

Name: Christie Lynn Wilson

Classification: Endangered Missing Adult
Date of Birth: 1978-01-10
Date Missing: 2005-10-05
From City/State: Lincoln, CA
Missing From (Country): USA
Age at Time of Disappearance: 27
Gender: Female
Race: White
Height: 64 inches
Weight: 140 pounds
Hair Color: Lt. Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Complexion: Medium
Glasses/Contacts Description: Clear contacts.
Identifying Characteristics: Mole on back, three staple size surgical scars on left leg below knee, double pierced ears.
Clothing: Black crew neck silky type shirt with 3/4 length sleeves, blue jeans, open toed wedged sandals with approximately a 4" heel, carrying a small black rectangular purse with black shoulder strap.
Jewelry: Small hoop earrings, two toned gold and silver watch.
Circumstances of Disappearance: Unknown. Christie was last seen at approximately 1:15am at a casino in the vicinity of the 1200 block of Athens Rd. in Lincoln, CA. She was seen walking out of the casino along with a 53 year old male individual who drove a light gray Toyota Camry. Christie's vehicle was found in the casino parking lot. She is missing under suspicious circumstances.
Investigative Agency: Placer County Sheriff's Department
Phone: (530) 889-7800
Investigative Case #: SO-05-14745

http://theyaremissed.org/
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http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=21394

Mario Garcia: "I Had Absolutely Nothing to Do with It"
Written for the web by Deborah Hoffman, Reporter
Written for the web by C. Johnson, Internet News Producer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Garcia Witness Interview
Deborah Hoffman's Report





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William Pence testified he saw a woman who may have been Wilson



Christoper Garcia, son of Mario Garcia






The man charged with the murder of Christie Wilson calmly denied on the stand this afternoon that he had anything to do with her disappearance and presumed death.

Mario Garcia is accused of murdering Wilson after a night of gambling at Thunder Valley Casino on October 5, 2005.

The defendant took the stand in his defense Thursday afternoon. His attorney, Ron Peters got right to the point.

Peters asked, "Do you realize you have a constitutional right not to testify?" Garcia answered, "Yes."

Peters then asked, "Did you kill anyone by the name of Christie Wilson?" Garcia testified, "Absolutely not."

Peters: "Did you murder her?" Garcia: "No."

The defense attorney then asked if Garcia kidnapped and raped Wilson. Garcia answered "no" to both. Peters wanted to know if Garcia had anything to do with Wilson's disappearance. "I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing," Garcia testified.

Peters then queried Garcia about when he first heard of Wilson. Garcia said it was when he was questioned on October 9, 2005 by Placer County Sheriff's Detective Bob McDonald.

Garcia told the court McDonald noticed calamine lotion on him and asked if it was poison oak. Garcia said it was. He said the detective left and then came back late that afternoon. Garcia recounted that McDonald wanted to search his car, a white Toyota Camry. At that point, Garcia said he called a friend who is an attorney and told him want McDonald wanted.

At that point, Garcia said "we all drove" to the police station. He testified he knew he would be making a taped statement. "I thought it was weird that he (McDonald) was showing me a picture of Christie Wilson in a skimpy nightgown," Garcia said.

Peters wanted to know if the detective said anything that made Garcia want to end the interview. Garcia testified, "He made some statements that concern me greatly and that's what eventually happened." He added, "By that time, I was frightened. I was concerned about what he was trying to do with my statements. I didn't trust him at that point. He said, 'If there's something in your car, I'll find it.'"

Peters moved on to Garcia's car, a white Toyota Camry. In prior testimony, the court heard the trunk carpeting was missing and that DNA from two hairs collected from the car match the DNA of Wilson. Investigators believe Garcia disposed of the carpeting to eliminate evidence of a crime.

Garcia testified he kept the car clean and washed. When Peters asked if there was ever a carpet or rug in that car, Garcia said, "No, there was not."

Peters asked his client about when investigators served a search warrant at his home on October 10, 2005. On a computer in the home they recovered an Internet search on penal codes. Garcia said computers were a part of his life and it wasn't uncommon for him to do Internet searches.

Garcia's attorney asked him about getting poison oak and his client said he was super-sensitive to it and contracted a case of the infection on October 2, 2005. He also testified that scratches on his body were from slipping off of a limb while pruning a tree and falling headfirst into blackberry bushes below.

Peters continued on to the night of October 4, 2005 when Garcia was at the casino. He asked about Wilson.
Garcia said, "She came to my table."
Peters: At some point did you and her have your arms around each other?"
Garcia: "Yes."
Peters: "Did you walk out of casino with Christie Wilson?"
Garcia: "Yes, I did."
Peters: You saw video of you two leaving ... "
Garcia: "Yes, having my arm around her wasn't an intimate way ... she was pissed off. She was mad at dealers. It was a way of calming her down."

The attorney wanted to know if Wilson accompanied Garcia to his car. He said she did but didn't get in it. Peters asked if Wilson was in the car.

"She's not in the front, she's not in the back and certainly she's not in the trunk," Garcia testified.

Cross-examination
On cross-examination, Prosecutor Garen Horst wanted to know about an injury to Garcia's eye on October 5, 2005, hours after the last time Wilson was seen in surveillance tape in the company of the defendant in the casino parking lot. Garcia testified he had poison oak.

Horst asked, "Isn't it true you did not have those injuries on the evening on October 4th? Garcia answered, "I had poison oak." Horst: "Were those injuries visible at the casino?" Garcia: "I didn't see a mirror." Horst: "You went to the bathroom a couple of times -- you didn't see scratches?" Garcia: "I saw poison oak."

Previous witnesses from the casino have testified they did not see injuries to Garcia when he was gambling there the night of October 4, 2005.

Horst said doctor records showed Garcia explained scratches and bruises on his face and upper torso as the result of falling out of a tree. Garcia testified he fell from the tree on Wednesday (October 5, 2005) afternoon.

The prosecutor asked if the injuries were from Wilson scratching Garcia to get away from him. Garcia said no. As Horst showed pictures of scratches on Garcia's chest, he asked the defendant again how he got the wounds. Garcia testified they were from falling out of a tree. Again Horst asked if the scratches were from Wilson clawing at Garcia in an effort to get away. Garcia said, "I did not have a fight with Christie Wilson. I am not responsible for her disappearance. We did not have a fight."

Horst wanted to know if Garcia was flirting with Wilson when the two were at the casino. Garcia called it "good conversation." He was asked about kissing Wilson. He testified he didn't remember kissing her but she kissed him once.

Cross-examination resumes Monday when court is back in session.

Witness Testifies to Possible Wilson Sighting
In earlier testimony Thursday, an El Dorado Hills man testified that he saw a woman he believes was Wilson in the afternoon of October 5, 2005. That would have been after she was seen leaving Thunder Valley Casino with Mario Garcia.

William Pence, 49, said he was driving along Iron Point Road in Folsom sometime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on October 5, 2005 when he saw a woman walking along the road. "I pulled up to a light and the person approached my car, asked me if I knew where Thunder Valley Casino was and I said yes and I told her it was 25 to 30 miles from where we were. I asked her why and she said 'I had too much to drink last night and I left my car in the parking lot. I'm trying to get back to my car,'" said Pence.

Pence testified that the light turned green and he drove off. He said it wasn't until a few days later that he heard news reports of a woman missing from Thunder Valley Casino so he called police.

Pence admitted on cross-examination that when he originally spoke with investigators in the case he could not pick Wilson out of photo line-up. He also admitted that he is required to wear glasses when he drives but couldn't be sure if he was wearing them on the day in question.

When asked how sure he was that the person he saw was Wilson, Pence told the court, "I'm not 100 percent sure. I'm 70, 75 percent sure that the person I saw was the person in question."

At one point, when the prosecution team was trying to impugn his statements, Pence asked the judge, "Am I under oath to tell the whole truth?"

Defendant's Son Testifies
The first witness Garcia's defense team called was his son. Christopher Garcia, 19, told jurors he had never seen a carpet or mat in the trunk of the family's Toyota Camry.

When investigators took the vehicle into custody in October 2005, the trunk carpet and mat were missing from the Toyota and investigators allege Garcia removed them to get rid of any evidence of a crime.

Under cross-examination, Garcia's son admitted that during jail house conversations his father told him, "We are family. We have to protect each other." Assistant Placer County District Attorney Garen Horst then asked the teen, "For you is blood thicker than water?" Garcia's son answered, "Yes."


Copyright 2006 News10/KXTV . All Rights Reserved.

Created: 11/9/2006 12:55:17 PM Updated: 11/10/2006 6:06:12 PM

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Garcia accuser rests case
Defense questions DNA evidence linked to Christie Wilson.
By Hudson Sangree - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2

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Prosecutors in the trial of Mario Flavio Garcia in the killing of Christie Wilson rested their case Tuesday, after defense attorneys cross-examined DNA experts and prepared to call their own witnesses, possibly including Garcia.

Garcia, 54, and Wilson, 27, were videotaped leaving the Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln together on Oct. 5, 2005. Wilson has not been seen since.

During the trial in Sacramento Superior Court, prosecutors have sought to show Wilson was in Garcia's car, a white 2004 Toyota Camry. Garcia told investigators he said goodbye to Wilson in the casino parking lot.

Defense attorney and DNA specialist Robert Blasier, a former member of O.J. Simpson's defense team, started the day by cross-examining Shawn Kacer, a DNA expert with the state Department of Justice.

Kacer testified Monday he had found what he believed was Wilson's DNA on the inside of a door of Garcia's car and mixed with Garcia's blood on the back seat. He also identified two hairs from Garcia's car as belonging to Wilson and put the odds of their belonging to anyone else at 1 in 720 quintillion.

Blasier asked if Wilson's blood had ever been confirmed in Garcia's car: "You didn't have any sample that you could say conclusively was Christie Wilson's blood?"

"No," Kacer answered.

Blasier also suggested that Wilson's hairs and DNA could have been transferred to Garcia as they sat next to each other, hugging, kissing and touching at the casino.

The attorney pointed out that only the two hairs, one in the door handle and another in the trunk, had generated full DNA profiles for Wilson.

According to Kacer, the DNA from the door panel and in Garcia's bloodstains in the car were sampled in amounts that could only be accounted for in billionths and trillionths of a gram.

In some cases, the tiny amounts of Wilson's DNA that were found allowed only partial genetic profiles and greatly reduced the odds that the DNA was hers, Kacer testified.

Blasier said the total amount of DNA in all of the samples put together was less than in a drop of blood. Such small amounts produced inconclusive results, Blasier suggested.

"Did you ever find any samples other than hairs that had more than half a nanogram that could have been Christie Wilson's?" Blasier asked Kacer.

"No, it appears they were less," Kacer said.

Anne Marie Schubert, a Sacramento County deputy district attorney and DNA expert, countered Blasier's questioning by saying tiny amounts of DNA are the norm in crime probes.

"There's no doubt in the world of forensic DNA testing you had a lot of DNA?" Schubert asked Kacer.

"Plenty of DNA to work with," Kacer answered.

He also said he felt confident that the DNA was Wilson's.

The prosecution's final witness testified about mitochondrial DNA analysis, a method that does not produce the astronomical odds of the nuclear DNA testing used by Kacer.

Angelynne Moore, an analyst with the state Justice Department said her tests had produced a 1 in 384 chance that a hair found on the rear floor of Garcia's car belonged to Wilson.

"You can't say anything about how that hair got there, can you?" Blasier asked.

"No," Moore said.

Garcia's trial was moved to Sacramento from Auburn because of pretrial publicity.

At the end of the day, Placer Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis asked lead prosecutor Garen Horst, a Placer County deputy district attorney, whether he had anyone else to testify.

"The people have no further witnesses," Horst answered.

"Do the people rest their case in chief?" Gaddis asked.

"Yes, we do," Horst said.

Defense lawyer Ron Peters told Gaddis he would be in and out of court today, as lawyers and the judge discussed motions and jury instructions.

"I'll be interviewing Mr. Garcia at the county jail," Peters told the judge.

In opening statements, Peters told jurors that Garcia would testify in the case. Peters refused to comment Tuesday on whether Garcia would take the stand.

"I'm not going to say one way or another whether he's going to testify," Peters said.

About the writer:
The Bee's Hudson Sangree can be reached at (916) 321-1191 or hsangree@sacbee.com.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/73349.html
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http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=21337


Defense to Begin Thursday in Garcia Trial
Written for the web by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The prosecution concluded its case against murder suspect Mario Garcia Tuesday afternoon after calling another DNA expert to the witness stand.

Angelynn Moore, who works with a Missing Person’s Unit out of the Department of Justice DNA Lab in Richmond, explained to the jury the difference between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA.

Before she took the stand, defense attorney Robert Blazier continued his questioning of DNA expert and prosecution witness Shawn Kacer that began late Monday afternoon just before court adjourned for the day.

Blazier, a former member of O.J. Simpson’s so-called “dream team,” tried to cast doubt on the DNA findings in the case linking missing 24-year-old Christy Wilson to Garcia’s car.

Wilson was last seen on a surveillance video tape walking with Garcia out into the parking lot of the Thunder Valley Casino in the early morning hours of October 5, 2005. She has not been seen since and Garcia was subsequently charged with her murder.

The defense will begin its case Thursday morning and is expected to call several witnesses. One of the witnesses may be Garcia himself if defense attorneys follow through with a promise made as the trial began.



Copyright 2006 News10/KXTV . All Rights Reserved.

Created: 11/7/2006 5:45:10 PM Updated: 11/8/2006 4:44:49 PM


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Unknown. Christie was last seen at approximately 1:15am at a casino in the vicinity of the 1200 block of Athens Rd. in Lincoln, CA. She was seen walking out of the casino along with a 53 year old male individual who drove a light gray Toyota Camry. Christie's vehicle was found in the casino parking lot. She is missing under suspicious circumstances.

Addr:
City/St: Lincoln, CA
Ht/Wt: 5' 04" / 140 lbs
Eye/Hr: Brown /Lt. Brown
Race: White
DOB: 01-10-78
Last Seen: 2005
http://www.placer.ca.gov/Sheriff/Missingpersons.aspx
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Tentative ID made on bones found by hikers



By Liz Kellar
Staff Writer
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Ever since a human skeleton was discovered north of Nevada City a month ago, locals have been left to wait and wonder whose body was uncovered.

Theories have included Christie Wilson, the woman abducted from Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln in 2005; Isaiah Marsh, the Nevada County man who disappeared April 14 of this year; and Lilly Wind, a 13-year-old from the San Juan Ridge who disappeared in 1992.

But the bones found near Manzanita Diggins definitely are not those of Wilson, Marsh or Wind, nor are they linked to anyone reported missing in the last couple of years, Nevada County sheriff's Sgt. Steve Tripp said Tuesday.

Yet the wait is over for the family of one missing woman. Local authorities are awaiting DNA confirmation before they release her identity, and that could take six weeks or more, Tripp said.

“The remains are that of a female between the ages of 20 and 40,” Tripp said. “We have a pretty good idea of who it is, based on items found with the remains.”

Her family has been contacted, and DNA samples have been collected to confirm the woman's identity, Tripp said.

“We just don't want to say (until the DNA confirmation), because there's a slim chance it's not that person,” he said.

The skull and 67 more bones were found by two hikers Aug. 2 near a seasonal pond in the Manzanita Diggins area north of Nevada City.

Investigators from the Sheriff's Office and two crime scene experts from the California Department of Justice went to the scene to collect the skeletal remains, Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said at the time of the discovery.

“They collected 68 major bones, including the skull and the upper denture, which appears intact,” Royal said.

“The bones were spread out over a 20-foot area. Some animals had scavenged a little bit — there were some teeth marks on the bones.”

Forensic anthropologists from California State University, Chico, still are evaluating the bones, Tripp said.

“We could not determine the cause of death and have not ruled out a crime,” he said. “There was nothing obvious found during the autopsy ... They're looking for marks or injuries that could have caused the death.”

To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20090902/N...entprofile=1053
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