A 76-year-old attorney will spend the rest of his life in prison after murdering an art dealer and burying his body in a Southern California mountainside.
Nearly two years ago, David Replogle was convicted of the 2008 death of art dealer and Palm Springs socialite Clifford Lambert.
The jury convicted Replogle of eight felonies, including first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, burglary, grand theft, identity theft, and forgery.
The former attorney was sentenced to life in prison by a judge on Friday, according to a press release from the Riverside District Attorney’s Office.
Replogle was one of six people who planned to stab Lambert, 74, to death at his home on December 5, 2008. The suspects then transported Lambert’s body to the Los Angeles mountainside, where he was buried. Authorities later found a jawbone and skull that were positively identified as Lambert’s.
Prosecutors claim Replogle used his legal credentials to forge power of attorney documents, allowing the suspects to drain approximately $185,000 from Lambert’s bank accounts and gain access to his home and art collection.
Replogle was found guilty in 2010, but the verdict and that of his co-defendants were overturned “due to prosecutorial misconduct,” according to the press release.
According to NBC News, the misconduct stemmed from a judge allegedly saying he did not want to touch an envelope because one of the co-defendants was HIV positive.
Replogle’s sentencing was delayed due to multiple motions for a new trial, which were eventually denied, according to prosecutors.
In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter earlier this year, the defendant stated that he is innocent.
“This is right out of Putin’s Russia, and you can quote me on that,” he told the outlet, adding that he was unable to call witnesses during the trial who he believes would have made a difference in the case.
Kaushal Niroula, Daniel Garcia, Miguel Bustamante, Craig McCarthy, and Russell Manning were convicted of their roles in the scheme.
Prosecutors said Manning and Niroula died following their convictions. Garcia and Bustamante were also given life sentences, while McCarthy pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against the other men, according to the Reporter. McCarthy is reportedly eligible for parole next year.
