Two jurors who voted to convict Kirstin Blaise Lobato in 2006 have signed documents supporting a new trial for her. Ms. Lobato was convicted in October 2006 of charges related to the murder of Duran Bailey in Las Vegas on July 8, 2001.
Ms. Lobato’s filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed on May 5, 2010, in the Clark County, Nevada District Court that includes significant new evidence she is actually innocent of having anything to do with Mr. Bailey’s murder. That new evidence includes alibi witnesses, and forensic entomology and forensic pathology evidence that at the time of Mr. Bailey’s murder Ms. Lobato was 170 miles north of Las Vegas.
After reviewing a 49-page document outlining Ms. Lobato’s key new evidence in 16 areas, two jurors not only agree that she deserves a new trial so that a jury can consider her new evidence, but they each signed a document supporting a new trial for her. Those jurors are Mr. Lloyd Taylor and Mr. Thomas Ciciliano, and they both agree, “I believe it is in the interest of justice that Ms. Lobato be granted a new trial.”
Mr. Taylor’s Affidavit dated January 26, 2011 states:
1. I was a juror in 2006 for the criminal case of the State of Nevada vs. Kirstin Blaise Lobato in the Clark County District Court.
2. Based on the evidence presented during Ms. Lobato’s trial the jury voted she was guilty of voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and sexual penetration of a dead body.
3. I am aware that Ms. Lobato has filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Clark County District Court, and that she is seeking a new trial in part based on numerous claims of new evidence the jury was not aware of when it convicted her in 2006.
4. I have reviewed 16 separate claims of Ms. Lobato’s new evidence that the jury did not have available in 2006 when it deliberated her case and found her guilty.
5. I believe that if the jury in 2006 had known the new evidence in Ms. Lobato’s habeas corpus petition it could have influenced the jury’s deliberations, and it could have possibly resulted in either a hung jury or Ms. Lobato’s acquittal.
6. I believe it is in the interest of justice that Ms. Lobato be granted a new trial.
7. I am executing this AFFIDAVIT voluntarily and of my own free will. No force has been used upon me, and no threats or promises made to me by anyone.
(Affidavit of Lloyd Taylor, January 26, 2011.)
Mr. Ciciliano’s Statement dated January 5, 2011 states:
1. I was a juror in 2006 for the criminal case of the State of Nevada vs. Kirstin Blaise Lobato in the Clark County District Court.
2. Based on the evidence presented during Ms. Lobato’s trial the jury voted she was guilty of voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and sexual penetration of a dead body.
3. I am aware that Ms. Lobato is seeking a new trial based in part on numerous claims of new evidence the jury was not aware of when it convicted her in 2006.
4. I have reviewed new evidence in Ms. Lobato’s case that the jury did not have available in 2006 when it deliberated and found her guilty.
5. I believe that if the jury in 2006 had known Ms. Lobato’s new evidence it could have influenced the jury’s deliberations, and it could have possibly resulted in either a hung jury or Ms. Lobato’s acquittal.
6. I believe it is in the interest of justice that Ms. Lobato be granted a new trial so that a jury can fairly consider all the evidence that is now available in her case after hearing both the defense and the prosecutions arguments about that evidence.
7. I am executing this STATEMENT voluntarily and of my own free will. No force has been used upon me, and no threats or promises made to me by anyone.
(Statement of Thomas Ciciliano, January 5, 2011.)
The document the jurors reviewed is titled “New Evidence Kirstin Blaise Lobato Is Innocent Of Any Involvement In The Death Of Duran Bailey In Las Vegas, Nevada On July 8, 2001.” It is available online at, http://www.justicedenied.org/kl/kb_lobato_case_summary.pdf
The documents signed by Mr. Lloyd Taylor and Mr. Thomas Ciciliano were obtained as a result of Justice Denied’s continuing investigation into Ms. Lobato’s case. The following webpage explains what was learned from Justice Denied’s interview of jurors for Ms. Lobato’s 2006 trial. See, Report About Interviews Of Jurors For Kirstin Blaise Lobato’s 2006 Trial at,
http://justicedenied.org/kbl_juror_interviews.html
On February 24, 2011, the documents signed by Mr. Taylor and Mr. Ciciliano were filed in the Clark County District Court as Supplemental Exhibits supporting the granting of Ms. Lobato’s habeas corpus petition. The document filed is titled, “Supplemental Exhibits To Petitioner’s Answer In Support Of Petition For Writ Of Habeas Corpus,” and it can be read at, http://justicedenied.org/kl/lobato_supplemental_juror_exhibits_11242011.pdf
By Hans Sherrer
Justice Denied