Jose Francisco Rodriguez
Angelina Rodriguez
Summary of Offense:
Rodriguez tried at least three times to kill her husband Frank, finally succeeding, on September 9, 2000, by spiking his Gatorade with antifreeze. Her motive was a $250,000 life insurance policy. She was also convicted of threatening a witness to whom she had revealed her plan to kill Frank. The prosecution also proved in aggravation that Rodriguez had killed her baby in 1993 by breaking a pacifier and ramming part of it down the baby’s throat, and then bringing a tort suit against the manufacturer. While the defense lawyer stated to the press after the case that he couldn’t find much of a defense on the guilt/innocence issue, Rodriguez insisted to the judge that she had not committed the crime, and that Frank must have drunk the antifreeze on his own. In mitigation, the defense presented evidence that she had been sexually abused as a child.
Rodriguez was sentenced to death in Los Angeles County on January 12, 2004.
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