Ok. This is my first thread on this important part of the board and am a little nervous!
Tried 8/9 times to post yesterday afternoon but kept getting thrown out and having to log back in-which didn't help!
Apologies in advance if I ever post a thread that has already been covered-I don't own a pc, so have very little time to be able to read back through all posts. I gues Mods can always merge posts if thread already exists!
Right-back to the subject in hand!
As we know, Gerry questioned the reliability of Eddie & Keeler. His legal team went to USA and requested trial notes of Eugene Zapata.
Zapata was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife last year. Jeanette Zapata went missing in 1976. Specialist Cadaver dogs last year indicated cadaver scent in her former home. Yet the judge threw the case out after saying that the dogs had a high failure rate in tests-60-70%.
However, on Feb 19th 2008, Eugene Zapata confessed to the murder & gruesome disposal of his estranged wife-the dogs were
RIGHT-YES GERRY-RIGHT!!!Not a peep has there been from 'the Team' about this- nor the Jersey finds either-3 arrests and counting!
It's oh so quiet, shhh, shh!!
Zapata Enters Guilty Plea In Connection With Missing Wife's Death
Former Madison Resident Plead To Reduced Charge of Homicide By Reckless Conduct
UPDATED: 7:18 am CST February 19, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- Eugene Zapata entered a guilty plea on Monday to a reduced charge of homicide by reckless conduct in connection to his wife's disappearance 30 years ago and was sentenced to time behind bars.
Appearing in Dane County Circuit Court on Monday, Zapata was sentenced to five years in prison after entering the guilty plea. Zapata, 69, pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors. The sentence was the maximum sentence for the charge, WISC-TV reported
Old sentencing rules likely mean that Zapata will spend just more than three years in prison, but the judge and prosecutors supported the deal, saying that it would give family and friends closure and let them heal, WISC-TV reported.
Dane County Judge Patrick Fiedler, who sentenced Zapata, said that the important thing is everyone now knows what happened to Zapata's wife, Jeanette. Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said that the plea deal gives closure to Jeanette Zapata's loved ones.
"Part of what happened after Madison police took over a cold case from nowhere to today is the ability now to have the family and friends of Jeanette Zapata know exactly what happened to her."
Eugene Zapata was to have faced a second trial late next month. A former Madison resident, he was tried last year for the disappearance and presumed death of his wife in 1976. Her body was never found.
He had faced first-degree murder charges. A jury deadlocked on a verdict, and a second trial was scheduled. If convicted on that charge, Zapata would have faced life in prison.
A second trial seemed less likely after reports surfaced earlier this month that a plea deal had been struck.
As part of the agreement with prosecutors, Zapata had to tell authorities how he killed his wife and where her body was hidden, WISC-TV reported.
During Monday's proceedings, Dane County chief prosecutor Bob Kaiser asked the court to accept an amended charge of homicide by reckless conduct. Kaiser earlier told the court that the deal with
Zapata includes a statement to police about why Zapata went to her house, how and why he killed her and what he did with her.
Kaiser said that Zapata confessed to police and that he believes Zapata's statement will be truthful and complete.
Prosecutors said that Zapata told police that he went to his wife's house in 1976, had an argument and "snapped." He told them that he grabbed a metal draftman's tool and hit her in the head multiple times. He said that she then dropped to ground and he strangled her. He apparently told investigators that he "strangled Jeanette Zapata manually until his hands hurt." He also wrapped a cord around her neck.
Zapata said that he wrapped her body in a tent and drove it to an area near Highway 151 and Reiner Road, where he hid it in some underbrush. He transferred her remains a short time later to some Juneau County land that he owed. There, he buried her body -- which remained there for 24 years -- before moving her remains to a Sun Prairie storage locker, where it was eventually cut into pieces and later disposed of at a Mauston landfill. He moved the body from the Juneau County because he planned to sell the land.
Linda Zapata, the youngest of Eugene and Jeanette Zapata's three children, gave a statement in court. She said that she was torn over testifying against her father earlier, but she's glad that he agreed to the plea deal. She said his confession is "a gift."
"By confessing to Mom's murder, you have given me and others a precious gift, a chance to grieve, mourn and heal," she said. "Mom deserved no less than that Mom deserved the truth about what really happened that morning, and I thank you for finally giving her that."
She added that she still loves her father and forgives him, although she doesn't condone what he did.
Blanchard said because Jeanette Zapata's body was dumped in numerous Dumpsters at the landfill, there is no way to recover her remains.
Eugene Zapata declined comment in the court. He was later taken away in handcuffs after his sentence was imposed.
Kaiser said that he thinks the agreement is the best possible option for "truth and justice." Likewise, Blanchard called the resolution to this case a huge achievement for justice.
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