The man said to have been hired to kill the ex-prostitute lover of an heir to the DuPont chemical fortune has been convicted of the killing.
Richard Murillo was one of three indicted on conspiracy to commit murder after the 1998 death of Patricia Margello at a motel here. The other two, former porn actress Diana Hironaga and Christopher Moseley, pleaded guilty and testified against Murillo.
The jury returned the verdict last Thursday.
Margello had been the lover of DuPont heir Dean MacGuigan. MacGuigan's stepfather, Moseley, wanted the relationship ended as badly as he wanted the heir's marriage to his estranged wife ended, since the wife was said to be draining the heir's trust fund.
Moseley hired Hironaga to watch MacGuigan, but when MacGuigan and Margello wouldn't end their relationship, Moseley ultimately gave an order to kill her. Margello was lured to a motel and strangled. Hironaga implicated the other suspects when police questioned her.
A fourth defendant, Joseph Balignasa, was charged in state court but his first trial ended in a mistrial. A second trial is set for January.
