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Reasonable Doubt Will Let Tony Villegas Go Free

By Steve Lombardi

Michael Mayo of the Florida Sun Sentinel writes today, My gut on Melissa Lewis murder: Confused. And in the last word of the title he answers the final question of the criminal jury whose duty it will be to set free the accused.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this case is all about greed and nothing else.

The only way the jealousy motive theory works against the accused is if the two women are having an intimate relationship that interferes with the Villegas marriage. If the women weren't having such an intimate relationship, then what good does it do for the accused to want Melissa Lewis dead?

Of course Melissa having a reputation for honesty and working for a business engaged in a billion dollar Ponzi scheme leads to the possibility of a solid motive for murdering her.

But why kill a partnered attorney who works in the firm running a Ponzi without setting someone else up for the murder?

Who would be a possible candidate that would direct the investigators to look away from any possible link to her place of employment and coworkers? The offer of a rather large reward just might deflect any questions about any link to the place of employment and those operating in a way that could raise questions. After all the last thing a Ponzi scheme needs are those working for the scheme to be questioned and then needing to take the 5th Amendment Right against self incrimination. And the support staff might have suspicions about what is going on at the business so we don't need investigators questioning them either.

But who are investigators likely to suspect? How about her husband; how difficult would it be to add the evidence the prosecutor has to set up a guy who's wife's address is known and the guy works for the railroad where the train schedules are published?

But what about those incriminating 'independent witness' statements; how do we deal with those?

Independent witnesses trying to collect at least a piece of a rather large reward do themselves no good when they should simply be doing their civic duty in reporting what they saw and heard to investigators. Because a jury then has to ask just how independent they are when they have a $250,000 motive to come forward with 'evidence' that corroborates that the accused is actually the murderer. Does filing for the reward make the witnesses look greedy? You be the judge of that one.

For those with a solid motive that remains hidden, the fact that other seemingly independent witnesses come forward is just icing on the cake.

Now ask yourself if there is any evidence in the accused's past of him being connected to any current illegal activity. If not who else was involved in illegal activity? I ask this question because according to everything being written several other people surrounding the murder victim seemed to have a large dose of greed going on and the need to keep the truth under wraps. As a juror any doubt you may have about the accused's guilt, not his innocence mind you, but his guilt, must be reasonable.

Is any doubt that you have about the accused's guilt reasonable?

Is the water in Florida wet?

Your honor, I rest my case.

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Tony Villegas Needs A Florida Divorce Lawyer | InjuryBoard Des ...

... The murder he's accused of committing is of Melissa Britt Lewis. ... Court filings in the Melissa Britt Lewis Estate can be found by following the link. ... 101

ALSO ABOUT THIS CASE BY THE SUN SENTINEL

Scott Rothstein's wife 'devastated' by his fall

Her husband had suddenly flown off to Morocco, but Kim Rothstein still had a party to throw. Two nights after Scott Rothstein left the country, his alleged investors raising alarms about missing money, Kim Rothstein had to entertain more than 100 guests at their home on Isla Bahia Drive. Read more...

• Michael Mayo: My gut on Melissa Lewis murder: Confused Updated: 10:52 a.m.

• Lauderdale police chief's friendship with Scott Rothstein under scrutiny

• Scott Rothstein: Life in lockup at Miami's Federal Detention Center

• Databases | The world of Scott Rothstein: Follow the donations, business interests, registrations and real estate deals

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on December 11, 2009 (boomark / email).