Document Actions

Murder conviction upheld for man who killed casino companion

June 16, 2009 Sacramento Bee

A man who killed a woman after a night of drinking and gambling at the Thunder Valley Casino has lost a bid to have his trial reviewed.

The California Supreme Court has denied a petition by convicted murderer Mario Flavio Garcia for the review, according to a news release from the Placer County District Attorney's Office.

Garcia filed the petition in April following a Feb. 25 decision in which the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction of first-degree murder in the 2005 slaying and disappearance of Christie Wilson following a night of drinking and gambling at the Thunder Valley Casino in Placer County, the release states.

The state Supreme Court denied the petition June 10 and also ordered that the opinion of the appeal court be a non-published one, meaning it cannot be cited as legal precedent, the release states.

Garcia, 56, a former Auburn resident, is currently serving a state prison sentence of 59 years to life.

Wilson was 27 when she disappeared from the casino near Lincoln on Oct. 5, 2005. Casino cameras showed Garcia and Wilson gambling together the night of Oct. 4, 2005. They also showed them walking together toward the parking lot at 1:13 a.m. Oct. 5. Her body has not been found.

Placer County sheriff's detectives arrested Garcia after finding hair follicles with Wilson's DNA in and on his car. Later, tiny blood spots matching Wilson's DNA were found on a back seat.

A jury convicted Garcia of murder on Nov. 21. Several jurors said the DNA evidence and Garcia's unconvincing explanation for scratches and bruises were factors in their verdict.



Personal tools