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Thread: Death Penalty Trial Reset for Nicholas Charley Quintana in 2017 CA Murder of Marcos Vargas

  1. #1
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    Death Penalty Trial Reset for Nicholas Charley Quintana in 2017 CA Murder of Marcos Vargas


    Marcos Vargas





    May 18, 2018

    Reports: Pathologist says wounds inflicted on Bakersfield attorney indicate an attempt to decapitate

    By Jason Kowtowski
    Bakersfield.com

    Marcos Vargas likely knew his time was short.

    The 26-year-old attorney scrambled from one apartment to the next early Nov. 29, frantically knocking on doors and ringing doorbells as he tried to get help, according to court documents. As he rushed, blood spilled from stab wounds he apparently attempted to stanch by holding a towel around his neck.

    By the time police arrived, it was too late. Officers found Vargas' nude body lying in the northeast area of the apartment complex where he lived in the 600 block of Hosking Avenue, according to court documents released Friday.

    During Vargas' autopsy, a pathologist located several deep cuts around his neck. He characterized them as three distinct attempts to decapitate the attorney, the documents say.

    On May 3, roughly five months after Vargas' grisly killing, a 19-year-old Bakersfield man was charged in his death.

    Nicholas Quintana, 19, met Vargas on a dating app and went to his apartment. After stabbing Vargas, Quintana stole items including a cell phone, Bakersfield police detectives allege in court documents.

    The phone was later found in a storm drain in Long Beach, the documents say. Cell tower data shows Quintana's phone was in the area of the apartment complex at the time of the killing then traveled to Long Beach afterward to the area where Vargas' phone was located.

    Additionally, surveillance video from the night of Vargas' death shows a vehicle similar to Quintana's arriving at the apartment complex around midnight and leaving after the killing occurred, the documents say.

    Quintana has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court Thursday.

    He told investigators he didn't know Vargas and has never been to his apartment complex. He said he has a girlfriend in Long Beach.

    The girlfriend said Quintana comes and goes frequently and she couldn't remember if he was at her apartment Nov. 29, the documents say.

    The attack apparently began in the west bedroom, police say in the documents, as officers found signs of a struggle including knocked over furniture and blood spatter and smearing on the walls, floor, ceiling and furniture.

    A man who answered in response to Vargas' knocking told police the attorney was nude, bleeding profusely and in distress, and he ran to get something to cover him up. When he returned with a blanket, he found Vargas lying in the grass, apparently dead.

    A licensed attorney in Mexico, Vargas came to Kern County after passing the bar exam in the United States and went to work for Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance in June 2016.

    Friends and coworkers praised Vargas' dedication and work ethic. Their names are redacted from the court documents.

    One woman described him as "a very nice and outgoing person who always wanted to help people," and she didn't know of anyone who would want to harm him, according to the documents. She said he only went out to business social events, and she never saw him drink excessively.

    Similar comments were made by a number of other coworkers. Most also said they knew little of Vargas' personal life.

    But a person who had engaged in sex acts with Vargas told investigators the attorney didn't want his friends or family to know he was gay, according to the documents.

    He said Vargas had previously been the victim of a robbery by someone else he met online.

    The person told investigators "meeting strangers online is risky because you never know who you are going to meet... ."

    https://www.bakersfield.com/news/rep...96d3cbd61.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Death Penalty case in murder of attorney will go forward to jury trial

    By Olivia LaVoice
    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, CA - A judge has found there is enough evidence against the young man accused of torturing an up-and-coming Bakersfield attorney to death in order to move forward with a jury trial.

    This case stands out for so many reasons. For one-the brutality is like nothing we've ever seen. The victim by all accounts was a compassionate and brilliant young attorney. And the suspect, barely an adult and somewhat small in stature, had a seemingly ordinary life. The horrific murder has revealed secrets of both the victim and the suspect.

    We warn you-some of the details of the murder may be disturbing to some viewers. One by one, Bakersfield Police Officers and crime scene techs described a bloody crime scene that seems too graphic even for horror films.

    Blood covered six different walkways at the Golden Valley Luxury Apartment complex. Bloody footprints and hand prints showed a trial to at least six different apartments where the victim pounded on the door-frantic for help before ultimately dying.

    When a crime scene tech was asked to describe the inside of victim Marcos Vargas's apartment, she replied "there's just blood everywhere." The crime scene photos shown in court depict the victim so covered in blood it's nearly impossible to make out any wounds. Autopsy photos painted a sickening picture of a suspect who tried to inflict so much pain and damage to the victim, frankly, it's difficult to describe.

    In addition to near decapitation, the suspect seemed to carve out a large piece of the 26-year-old's face. The most gut-wrenching part of all is the fact that he was alive during the savagery inflicted on him. The nuts and bolts of the evidence against the baby-faced, petite suspect are as followed: Less than 24 hours before Vargas was murdered, police allege the men met each other on the dating app "Meet Me", where the victim made it clear he was looking for sex.

    Though the user police say is Quintana doesn't say much of anything sexual in response, and is initially a bit reluctant, he eventually agrees to come over. Both men, believed to be straight by those closest to them, allegedly met up just after midnight.

    Inside Vargas's apartment, prosecutor Eric Smith told the judge Vargas was anticipating a sexual encounter where as Q​​​​​​​uintana had something else in mind.

    As the victim undressed and laid down on the bed, Smith theorized the 19-year-old took out a large knife and began hacking away at the unsuspecting attorney. An un-used condom was found on the floor.

    Vargas's iphone was later recovered in long beach, 600 feet from Quintana's longtime girlfriend's home.

    Crime scene techs also said Quintana's DNA was found on a beer can inside Vargas's apartment.

    We didn't hear much from the defense today, as is typical at preliminary hearings, but they did establish that much of the DNA found at the scene did not match Quintana. The number one question everyone's been asking with this case is what is the motive? It seems we may never know for sure. If convicted, the 19-year-old faces the death penalty.

    The victim, Marcos Vargas was an active member of the legal community working with Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance. He was also involved with the Immigration-Justice Collaboration and the young lawyers section of the Kern County Bar.

    https://www.kget.com/news/local-news...ial/1458180597
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Trial date confirmed for man charged in grisly slaying of Bakersfield attorney

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A case involving the brutal killing of a local attorney who met his alleged killer through an online dating app has been confirmed for trial later this month.

    On Friday, attorneys in the case of Nicholas Quintana said they are ready and a judge scheduled a trial date of Jan. 25. It’s expected a courtroom will be assigned on that date, after which motions will be heard and a jury selected.

    Quintana, 22, is accused of killing Marco Vargas, 26, by repeatedly stabbing him at Golden Valley Luxury Apartments in southeast Bakersfield. Vargas had invited Quintana to his apartment after connecting with him on the MeetMe app, court documents said.

    Vargas rushed from his apartment early Nov. 29, 2017, a towel held to his neck as he tried to stop blood pouring from his cuts and pounded on neighbors’ doors for help, according to the filings. He died soon afterward.

    A pathologist who examined Vargas’ body said deep cuts around his neck indicated three separate attempts to decapitate him, the documents said.

    Quintana stole items from the apartment, including a cellphone, and fled from Bakersfield to Long Beach, detectives said in the documents. The stolen phone was later found in a storm drain in Long Beach.

    Cell tower records showed Quintana’s phone in the area of the apartment complex at the time of the killing, then traveling to where the stolen phone was discarded in Long Beach, the filings said. Additionally, surveillance footage from the complex captured a vehicle similar to Quintana’s arriving around midnight — just before investigators say the killing occurred — and leaving a short time later.

    Quintana has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, robbery and manufacturing an assault weapon.

    Vargas, a licensed attorney in Mexico, came to Kern County after passing the bar exam in the United States and worked for Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance.

    A lawsuit filed by Vargas’ mother against The Meet Group, the operators of the MeetMe app, alleges it failed to properly screen users, making “violent, dangerous acts against other users more likely.” The next hearing in the suit is scheduled Dec. 17.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...ield-attorney/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Jury selection begins in trial of man accused of killing local attorney

    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of killing a local attorney.


    Nicholas Quintana, 22, is accused in the killing of Marco Vargas after meeting through an online dating app and allegedly stabbing him to death. The killing happened at the Golden Valley Luxury Apartments in South Bakersfield in November 2017.

    Quintana pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, robbery, and manufacturing an assault weapon.

    The jury is expected to be selected by the end of the week.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...ocal-attorney/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Witnesses and police describe horrific crime scene of murdered attorney

    By Veronica Morley
    KERO News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — "It was one of the most horrific scenes of my career," said one officer who testified Thursday in the Nicholas Quintana trial.

    Quintana, 22, is accused of stabbing to death Bakersfield attorney Marcos Vargas in November 2017.

    During the trial Thursday, several witnesses and investigators testified to the grisly scene left at the Golden Valley Luxury Apartments where Vargas was killed.

    Christopher Bagby, one of the investigators, testified to the pools of blood throughout the victim's apartment and outside the rest of the complex. He described crime scene photos that depicted blood on the furniture and walls of the apartment. A trail of blood droplets was described leaving the apartment. Bagby said the blood splatter indicated the victim left the apartment and did not return.

    Along with police, several residents who lived in the apartment complex testified to what they saw and heard the night of Nov. 28, 2017.

    Jim and Ashlee Hembree lived in the apartment next to Vargas. They both testified that night, they heard loud banging noise and what sounded like moaning or grunting. When they checked outside, they both saw their neighbor standing there, covered in blood.

    "From the head to the toes," Ashlee Hembree testified. She said she went to the kitchen to get a towel for her neighbor, but when she looked back outside he was laying in the grass.

    Jim Hembree described what he believed were his neighbor's final moments. He said he saw his neighbor holding his neck and covered in blood from his mouth all the way down his entire body. He said just standing there a pool of blood was gathering at his feet.

    "I had no real medical training," Hembree said. "All I could do really was tell him help is on its way and I'm here with you."

    Hembree testified that Vargas was sitting in the grass when his hand dropped from his neck. Hembree said at that time he believed Vargas had died.

    Estefania Guzman and her brother Rafael lived in an apartment together. Estefania said that night, she went to bed early but was awoken in the middle of the night by "very loud banging" and "very odd moaning sounds." She said she looked out the window and saw a pool of blood. That's when she told her brother.

    Rafael testified that when opened the door and went outside and saw Vargas dead on the floor. He said a police officer told him to go back inside.

    During opening statements, prosecutors said Quintana and Vargas met on a dating app. Prosecutor Eric Smith said cell phone records put Quintana in the area the night of the murder and his cell phone was then tracked to Long Beach, near where Vargas' phone was found.

    Quintana's defense attorney Timothy Hennessy said during opening statements that his client is not a murderer, but a kid with a secret.

    https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/...dered-attorney
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Ex-girlfriend testifies in trial of man accused of killing attorney

    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Nicholas Quintana did not act strangely or express sexual desires for men in the days leading up to the killing of a Bakersfield attorney he’s alleged to have met on a dating app, an ex-girlfriend testified Monday at his murder trial.

    The former girlfriend of Quintana testified their relationship “seemed normal, it seemed good” and she noticed nothing unusual in his behavior either before or after the slaying of Marcos Vargas. She testified only for several minutes and is expected to be called back later in the trial.

    Quintana, 22, is accused of stabbing Vargas multiple times with enough force that he “virtually decapitated” the attorney, according to testimony and court documents. The assault happened at Vargas’ apartment at Golden Valley Luxury Apartments in southeast Bakersfield, where the attorney invited Quintana after chatting him up on a dating app.

    Vargas rushed from the apartment and banged on neighbors’ doors for help before collapsing early Nov. 29, 2017. He was dead by the time first responders arrived.

    Prosecutor Eric Smith says Quintana killed and robbed the attorney after arriving for a sexual encounter. Vargas’ cellphone was stolen and recovered weeks later in a storm drain two blocks from the Long Beach home of Quintana’s then-girlfriend, according to testimony.

    DNA evidence and information retrieved from cellphones and the MeetMe dating app connect Quintana to the crime, Smith has said.

    Quintana defense attorney Timothy Hennessy has said his client is no murderer and urged jurors to keep an open mind. Both Quintana and Vargas had secrets, he said during his opening statement last week.

    Monday marked the fourth day in a trial where both sides are expected to finish presenting evidence either late this week or early next week.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...ling-attorney/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Man testifies he didn’t mean to kill attorney who was nearly decapitated

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Nicholas Quintana testified he knew he had injured a local attorney during a struggle but didn’t know he had died.

    An incredulous prosecutor pointed out that earlier testimony indicated the attorney had nearly been decapitated. How could Quintana not know he killed the man?

    “I didn’t mean to do that,” Quintana said during his testimony Friday on the eighth day of his murder trial.

    Quintana, 22, also testified he was the person who chatted with Marcos Vargas on a dating app before going to the attorney’s southeast Bakersfield apartment, where Vargas was stabbed multiple times early Nov. 29, 2017. He said a cellphone retrieved during the investigation belonged to him, and acknowledged going to Vargas’ apartment both the night before and the night of the attorney’s death.

    Vargas, 26, worked at Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance at the time of his death.

    Prosecutor Eric Smith has said Quintana stabbed Vargas then stole his cellphone before driving to his girlfriend’s home in Long Beach. Data retrieved from cell towers and the dating app, as well as DNA evidence, identified Quintana as the killer, he said.

    Pointing out certain exchanges where Quintana agreed with certain statements a woman on the app made, Smith asked the defendant if he was “disgusted” by gay sex.

    Quintana denied that was the case. He testified he was “not really” offended when men on the dating app propositioned him.

    Timothy Hennessy, Quintana’s attorney, has told the jury his client is not a murderer and that both Quintana and Vargas had secrets.

    The trial resumes 9:15 a.m. Monday.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...y-decapitated/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Both sides rest in murder trial of man charged in local attorney’s gruesome slaying

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Both sides in the trial of a man charged in the grisly killing of a local attorney have finished presenting their cases, with closing arguments expected Wednesday.

    Nicholas Quintana, 22, has admitted to repeatedly stabbing Marcos Vargas but said he acted in a desperate attempt to escape from the attorney’s apartment. He said he went there after meeting Vargas on a dating app but wasn’t allowed to leave.

    On Monday, his second day of testimony, Quintana said he couldn’t recall the details of how he inflicted each of the many wounds suffered by Vargas, who police and a pathologist have testified was nearly decapitated. He denied cuts to Vargas’ mouth were made in disgust over the attorney’s offer of oral sex, or that a wound to the attorney’s buttocks indicated a hatred toward gay men.

    Prosecutor Eric Smith expressed disbelief that Quintana couldn’t remember the details of how he inflicted the injuries. He said one wound was so deep that Quintana’s hand would have been partly inside Vargas’ head.

    “You don’t remember taking a knife and going all the way way around his neck from one side to the other?” Smith asked.

    Quintana testified he slashed wildly with a box cutter as he fought Vargas. Some wounds must have been inflicted while he was on the attorney’s back, he said. Others he couldn’t recall.

    Quintana faces life without parole if convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait and means of torture.

    Vargas, 26, worked at Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance at the time of his death early Nov. 29, 2017. He ran from his southeast Bakersfield apartment and banged on a door for help but died before first responders arrived.

    Smith says Quintana went to Vargas’ apartment intending to rob and kill the attorney. Quintana has admitted to stealing a cellphone and laptop from the apartment.

    The prosecutor also says the brutality of the crime is due in part to Quintana’s hatred of gay men.

    Defense attorney Timothy Hennessy has elicited testimony from his client that he acted in self-defense in killing Vargas. Hennessy told jurors Quintana is not a murderer, just a man with secrets.

    One of those, according to Quintana’s testimony, was his attraction to men. He said he was dating a woman in Long Beach but was also interested in men at the time he met Vargas.

    Quintana testified he has since married and is no longer sexually interested in men.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...esome-slaying/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #9
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    Jury deadlocked in trial of slain Bakersfield attorney

    Nicholas Quintana found guilty of weapons charge

    By Anthony Wright
    23ABC News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The jury has returned a mixed decision in the case of a man accused of stabbing to death Bakersfield attorney Marcos Vargas in a manner so blunt, prosecutors say the victim was nearly decapitated.

    The trial of Nicholas Quintana ended with the jury deadlocked on murder and robbery charges, finding the defendant guilty of only a weapons charge. The jury told Judge Brian M. McNamara that further deliberations would not result in them reaching a verdict on the remaining counts.

    Quintana, 22, was accused of stabbing Vargas to death in November 2017. During the trial, several witnesses and investigators testified to the grisly scene left at the Golden Valley Luxury Apartments where Vargas was killed.

    Christopher Bagby, one of the investigators, testified to the pools of blood throughout the victim's apartment and outside the rest of the complex. He described crime scene photos that depicted blood on the furniture and walls of the apartment. A trail of blood droplets was described leaving the apartment. Bagby said the blood splatter indicated the victim left the apartment and did not return.

    Prosecutors said Quintana and Vargas met on a dating app. Prosecutor Eric Smith said cell phone records put Quintana in the area the night of the murder and his cell phone was then tracked to Long Beach, near where Vargas' phone was found.

    Court documents show that investigators allegedly found text messages between Quintana and his girlfriend, discussing the case making the news, and joking about how the described height did not match his standing. The documents also showed Vargas had conversations with multiple men on the app, inviting them to come to his apartment to have sex. One of those people was Quintana.

    Quintana's defense attorney Timothy Hennessy said during opening statements that his client is not a murderer, but a kid with a secret. He said the events of that night were purely self-defense.

    When Quintana was arrested, he allegedly was found with a black rifle and black ski mask. Quintana told police he did not know Vargas and had not been in the area of his murder.

    https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/...field-attorney
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #10
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    Judge grants motion dismissing lawsuit filed against dating app in Bakersfield lawyer’s death

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET News

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Superior Court judge has granted a motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit that alleged a dating app used by slain Bakersfield attorney Marcos Vargas failed to properly screen users.

    The ruling on Thursday by Judge Eric Bradshaw disposes of the case, and a trial date scheduled for next year was vacated.

    Vargas, 26, was stabbed to death by Nicholas Quintana after they connected on the MeetMe app in 2017.

    Vargas’ mother argued in a suit filed in 2019 that her son never would have used the app to reach out to Quintana if he had known there were pending assault and child cruelty charges against him.

    “Defendants had reason to know that failing to conduct reasonable background checks into users would make occurrence of violent, dangerous acts against other users more likely,” the suit said.

    But Bradshaw found The Meet Group, parent company of the app, had met its burden showing the causes of action listed in the suit — negligence, wrongful death and false advertising, among others — had no merit, according to a court filing.

    “This shifted the burden to plaintiff to show a triable issue of material fact,” the filing says. “Plaintiff fails to do so, offering only conjecture in opposition.”

    The judge also noted the assault and child cruelty charges against Quintana were ultimately dismissed.

    Quintana, 23, is charged with murder and robbery in Vargas’ death. A trial in April ended in a hung jury, and a retrial is set for February.

    He testified to killing Vargas in self-defense, but a prosecutor argued Quintana planned to attack and rob the attorney, who was nearly decapitated early Nov. 29, 2017.

    https://www.kget.com/news/local-news...lawyers-death/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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