Richard Murillo, the man accused of killing a former prostitute at the behest of a relative of the DuPont family was found guilty Friday of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. A federal court jury returned with the verdict after deliberating for 11 hours.
Murillo, 38, was one of three people indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire after the Aug. 2, 1998, death of Patricia Margello at a seedy motel here.
The other two, Christopher Moseley and Diana Hironaga, pleaded guilty to the same charge and testified against Murillo during a seven-day trial in U.S. District Court. The case went to the jury Wednesday. [Hironaga had a brief fling in the adult business from 1993 to 1995 and appeared, notably, in M.O.R. Than a Woman from Big Top Video.]
Murillo, Mosely and Hironaga were members of "a wretched, dysfunctional group of people," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Connell said in closing arguments.
Ms. Margello, 45, described in court as a former prostitute, had been involved in a drug-dependent relationship with Dean MacGuigan, a descendant on his mother's side of a DuPont Co. founder.
Moseley, MacGuigan's stepfather, dispatched the heir to Las Vegas in July 1998 in a bid to end his relationship with Ms. Margello. He also wanted MacGuigan, 42, to get a job and seek a divorce from his estranged wife, who was draining the heir's trust fund.
Moseley, 59, hired Ms. Hironaga, a former prostitute and porn actress, to watch over MacGuigan. When MacGuigan and Ms. Margello couldn't be persuaded to break up, Moseley eventually gave the order for "step five," the contract killing, testimony indicated.
Hironaga, according to the Associated Press, lured Ms. Margello to a motel on Aug. 2, 1998, on the pretext they would be paid $2,000 to escort two high-rolling gamblers. According to testimony, Margello was strangled and her body was wrapped in trash bags and stuffed in an air conditioning duct.
Hironaga and Murillo collected a $15,000 payment, testimony indicated. But Hironaga had rented the motel room in her own name, and when questioned by police she implicated the others.
Moseley entered a plea agreement earlier this month. Ms. Hironaga also pleaded guilty.
