Google Alert: Prostitute Claims No Motive to Kill Sugar Daddy
Alleged Prostitute Denies Role in Death of Google Exec
Today in court, counsel for Alix Tichelman claims she had no motive to kill Forrest Hayes, the victim in her pending manslaughter case out of Santa Cruz. Hayes was an executive at Google and also worked for several other tech companies. Public defender Larry Bigham told the judge that Hayes had been a steady source of income for the defendant, who would thus have no reason to want him dead. He was trying to get Tichelman released on her own recognizance or at least get a reduction in her $1.5 million bail; both requests were denied.
Security video from the time of Hayes’ death apparently shows the lady of the night preparing a syringe of heroin and injecting it into Hayes, who collapsed after a severe reaction to the drug. According to the police, instead of calling 911, Tichelman packed up her drugs while sipping a glass of red wine, and promptly got the hell out of dodge. She is now facing a manslaughter charge (among others), the prosecution alleging that administering heroin was “part of her routine.”
The scenario was all too familiar for Tichelman. In September 2013, she came out of the bathroom to find her “boyfriend,” 53-year-old Dean Riopelle, unconscious from a heroin overdose. She claims that she spent 5 minutes trying to revive him and only then called 911. Riopelle was eventually transported to the hospital but was taken off life support one week later.
So, can evidence of the prior case be used against Alix Tichelman in this new case? The answer is: maybe.
California Evidence Code section 1101(b) provides the following: "Nothing in this section prohibits the admission of evidence that a person committed a crime, civil wrong, or other act when relevant to prove some fact (such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident, or whether a defendant in a prosecution for an unlawful sexual act or attempted unlawful sexual act did not reasonably and in good faith believe that the victim consented) other than his or her disposition to commit such an act."
In layman’s terms, this section allows evidence of “prior bad acts” to prove anything BUT the accused having a propensity towards a particular act or behavior. This type of character evidence can, however, be used to prove things such as intent, knowledge, familiarity, etc… So basically, the prosecution only needs to frame its relevance in terms other than to show likelihood of defendant having committed the crime at hand, and the incident is admissible character evidence.
There have been many cases that define the parameters of this type of character evidence, far beyond this blog’s capacity. For more, see: http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1982&context=plr
Security video from the time of Hayes’ death apparently shows the lady of the night preparing a syringe of heroin and injecting it into Hayes, who collapsed after a severe reaction to the drug. According to the police, instead of calling 911, Tichelman packed up her drugs while sipping a glass of red wine, and promptly got the hell out of dodge. She is now facing a manslaughter charge (among others), the prosecution alleging that administering heroin was “part of her routine.”
The scenario was all too familiar for Tichelman. In September 2013, she came out of the bathroom to find her “boyfriend,” 53-year-old Dean Riopelle, unconscious from a heroin overdose. She claims that she spent 5 minutes trying to revive him and only then called 911. Riopelle was eventually transported to the hospital but was taken off life support one week later.
So, can evidence of the prior case be used against Alix Tichelman in this new case? The answer is: maybe.
California Evidence Code section 1101(b) provides the following: "Nothing in this section prohibits the admission of evidence that a person committed a crime, civil wrong, or other act when relevant to prove some fact (such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident, or whether a defendant in a prosecution for an unlawful sexual act or attempted unlawful sexual act did not reasonably and in good faith believe that the victim consented) other than his or her disposition to commit such an act."
In layman’s terms, this section allows evidence of “prior bad acts” to prove anything BUT the accused having a propensity towards a particular act or behavior. This type of character evidence can, however, be used to prove things such as intent, knowledge, familiarity, etc… So basically, the prosecution only needs to frame its relevance in terms other than to show likelihood of defendant having committed the crime at hand, and the incident is admissible character evidence.
There have been many cases that define the parameters of this type of character evidence, far beyond this blog’s capacity. For more, see: http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1982&context=plr
- Tags: Alix Tichelman, California criminals, celebrity crimes, criminal defense, Forrest Hayes, homicide, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Lawyer, murder
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catherine
snowstorm