Final Defendant’s Trial in Troiani Slaying to Be Held Outside County

Former Marine Kevin Watkins, the last of five co-defendants to stand trial in the slaying of Carlo Troiani, will be tried outside San Diego County because of extensive publicity here, Vista Superior Court Judge Gilbert Nares ruled Wednesday.

Nares’ decision came in the wake of testimony from a pollster who found that 91% of the people contacted by his firm were familiar with facts about the Troiani case, and that more than 50% of the prospective jurors had formed the judgment that Watkins was probably guilty.

Laura Troiani was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Marine Staff Sgt. Carlo Troiani, in August, 1984. Prosecutors alleged that she was the ringleader of the plot and promised to pay five Camp Pendleton-based Marines $500 each to help her kill her husband.

A Superior Court jury sentenced Troiani to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Four Marines Sentenced to 25 Years to Life

Four of Troiani’s co-defendants subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder, and each was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Watkins, now 21, is the only co-defendant to go to trial on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors allege that Watkins played a role in planning Troiani’s death, although he was not at the scene of the killing in Oceanside.

Brad Patton, Watkins’ defense attorney, said the questioning of prospective jurors in Vista had shown results similar to the pollster’s findings.

Judge Couldn’t Be Sure of a Fair Trial

Nares concurred Wednesday that he couldn’t be sure that Watkins could receive a fair trial in Vista, given the immense amount of publicity on the case, and granted Patton’s motion for a change of venue.

“Almost every article written (about the Troiani murder) included language which joined the five Marines along with Laura Troiani as the accused persons,” Patton said, “so every time an article was written about Laura, Kevin Watkins necessarily got lumped in as one of the five Marines.”

He said the court will now begin a search for an available courtroom elsewhere in the state, and the trial probably will begin within a month.