The September 1996 murder of Lynette Marie LaFontaine-Trujillo in Los Angeles, California is the subject of the documentary The Killer Closer: Deadly Dessert, which will air on Investigation Discovery. Her untimely death was hastened by an unexpected series of events, and the court hearings described her as “a Kafka story with its darkness, with its twists and turns.” The viewer is taken on a journey through the intricate chain of events and the investigation that led to the arrest of the perpetrator in this episode. On request, we can provide you with information about the identity of the perpetrator and his current whereabouts. Let’s dive right in then, shall we?
How did Lynette LaFontaine Trujillo die?
Cynthia Berken, who taught second grade at Sherman Oaks, was the mother of Lynette Marie LaFontaine. Trujillo’s Lynette Marie LaFontaine-Trujillo was born on December 14, 1961 in Westwood in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, Lynette had a younger sister named Nicole Garza, who worked as an attorney specializing in family and divorce law. In 1989, Nicole was Lynette’s attorney during the divorce proceedings she was initiating against her husband, Miguel Trujillo. It has been said that her younger sister was an undue influence on Lynette, which was the very factor that led to Lynette’s death a few years later. At the time of her death, Lynette was a mother to three sons, all living with their respective fathers.
In 1991, Nicole married Jose Garza, a veteran Los Angeles City Attorney, and the couple had three children, ranging in age from 18 months to 4 years. According to the show, Nicole and Jose allegedly had sexual relations on September 25, 1996. After the alleged encounter, Nicole reportedly asked her husband to get a diet ice cream bar from the freezer in the garage at their Sylmar estate. It was almost 11am when Jose made his way to the garage, but he became suspicious when he heard the dogs barking in the house.
Jose went into the garage with a semi-automatic firing revolver but was immediately ambushed and shot at. Despite the fact that the attacker missed Jose with all three shots, Jose was able to eliminate the threat by shooting the attacker dead. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered the attacker unconscious and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, black wig and glasses that resembled goggles. They took the masked figure to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, where investigators were shocked to identify the perpetrator of the attack.
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Who Killed Lynette LaFontaine-Trujillo?
Lynette LaFontaine-Trujillo, Nicole’s sister and the alleged attacker, was found dead at her home with a fatal gunshot wound to the stomach. Lynette did not regain consciousness before she died on October 7, 1996, approximately two weeks after the incident that occurred in her brother-in-law’s garage. Laws Her death occurred in hospital. Lynette was living with her mother Cynthia in an apartment in Sherman Oaks at the time of the event and was working as a waitress. Blood and Lynette’s gun were found on the garage floor by investigators called to the scene.
They also discovered a bracelet with a key attached that matched a Ford Bronco. The neighborhood was thoroughly searched by police in hopes of locating the suspect vehicle and gaining additional information that could be useful in their investigation. During this time, authorities finally learned the name and identity of the attacker. After the arrest, the Garcia couple were transported to the local police station, where they were interrogated in separate rooms. According to the episode, when their interrogators also learned the identity of the attacker, they did not immediately reveal it to the couple after discovering it themselves.
Instead, authorities launched an investigation into Lynette, leaving Jose perplexed. He continued to wonder why his sister-in-law was even a topic of conversation. On the other hand, Nicole lazed around the interrogation room and seemed unfazed by the surprising series of questions that led the detectives to consider them possible suspects in the case.
Police were stunned to discover many notes on the passenger seat of Lynette’s car. These papers contained detailed instructions on how to carry out Jose’s murder, and their discovery came as a complete surprise to them. The slips of paper were wet and damaged, and there was no signature or salutation on them. The notes were put together like a jigsaw puzzle by forensic analysts and handwriting analysis was used to determine whether or not they were written by Nicole. On September 27, 1996, she was taken into custody on suspicion of the attempted murder of her husband, and on October 8, 1996, after Lynette died, the attempted murder charge was escalated to a murder charge.
Where is Nicole Garza right now?
Nicole Garza initially pleaded not guilty to both charges; but in January 1997 she changed her plea to “no contest” on both counts, hoping that her case would be resolved more quickly and her children would be protected from additional publicity. On January 23, 1997, she was sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and from fifteen years to life for attempted murder. She is currently in her late 50s at this time. Nicole was granted her freedom after serving her entire sentence. According to multiple reports, Nicole has remarried and moved to Arizona, where she now lives with her family and has a personal life.
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