A 76-year-old lawyer will spend the rest of his life in prison for his part in killing an art buyer and burying his body in a mountain in Southern California
Nearly two years ago, David Replogle was found guilty of the 2008 murder of Clifford Lambert, a Palm Springs socialite and art dealer. Replogle was convicted by the jury of eight charges, including burglary, grand theft, identity theft, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and first-degree murder. According to a news release from the Riverside District Attorney’s Office, a court sentenced the now-former lawyer to life in prison on Friday.
On December 5, 2008, Replogle was one of six individuals who planned to knife Lambert, 74, to death at his house. Lambert’s body was subsequently taken by the suspects to a mountaintop in Los Angeles, where it was interred. Later, authorities found a skull and jawbone that were unmistakably Lambert’s.
According to the prosecution, Replogle forged power of attorney paperwork using his legal credentials to allow the suspects to enter Lambert’s residence and art collection and withdraw about $185,000 from his bank accounts.
According to the news release, Replogle’s 2010 conviction was overturned “due to prosecutorial misconduct,” along with the convictions of his co-defendants. According to NBC News, the judge’s claimed remark about not wanting to handle an envelope since one of the co-defendants had HIV was the source of the misbehavior. Prosecutors claim that several motions for a fresh trial that were later rejected caused Replogle’s punishment to be delayed.
Earlier this year, the defendant told the Bay Area Reporter that he was innocent.
He told the publication, “This is right out of Putin’s Russia, and you can quote me on that,” saying he was not allowed to summon witnesses during the trial who he believes may have changed the outcome of the case.
For their roles in the scam, co-defendants Russell Manning, Craig McCarthy, Miguel Bustamante, Daniel Garcia, and Kaushal Niroula were found guilty. According to authorities, Manning and Niroula passed away following their convictions. According to the Reporter, McCarthy entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for his evidence against the other guys, while Garcia and Bustamante were both given life sentences. According to reports, McCarthy will be eligible for parole next year.
According to NBC News, Niroula pretended to be a Nepalese exiled prince, which contributed to the case’s prominence.
