The extradition trial for a Shawnigan Lake man facing a murder charge connected to a killing 28 years ago has been adjourned while the judge considers whether to allow additional evidence.
Anthony (Anton) Michael Kubica is charged with murder in the death of 78-year-old Marie Darling, whose body was discovered in California’s Coachella Valley desert on June 28, 1990, 24 days after she was last seen alive by a neighbour. Darling’s feet were bound with duct tape and an autopsy revealed she died of blunt-force trauma to the head.
Kubica’s defence lawyer Robert Mulligan wants to introduce two new pieces of evidence.
Mulligan argued this will show that no further evidence was compiled to support the 2014 felony murder charge than what existed in the 1990s. He is urging B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Duncan to deny the U.S. government’s extradition request on the basis that there is insufficient evidence for a jury in California to reasonably convict Kubica of murder.
Stacey Repas, counsel for the federal attorney general, is arguing for the judge to extradite Kubica to the U.S. to face trial.
The case has been adjourned until Jan. 24 while Duncan considers whether to allow the additional evidence.
According to court documents made public in October, the Riverside County district attorney’s office alleges that Kubica killed Darling, a wealthy widow, for financial gain.
At the time, Kubica lived in Palm Springs, California with his wife Connie Jo Kubica, who has since died.
Prosecutors allege Kubica emptied Darling’s bank account and used the money to pay down a mortgage.
The Riverside sheriff’s office says there is “an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence” that links Kubica to Darling’s death.
California bank records show Kubica and his wife were facing foreclosure on their Palm Springs home. Cash deposits made after Darling’s murder allowed Kubica to cover all outstanding mortgage payments. The district attorney’s office alleges Connie Jo Kubica was Darling’s financial adviser, so she knew about Darling’s personal wealth.
A year after the killing, a lawyer acting for the Darling family discovered that $184,135 US had been transferred from Darling’s Swiss bank account to the eastern Caribbean British territory of Anguilla. The National Bank of Anguilla account that received the money was opened on May 24, 1990, by Kubica, according to California court documents.
Financial records show Kubica went to the Anguilla bank and withdrew $170,000 in two separate transactions. He asked the bank to transfer the remaining $130,000 to a Royal Bank of Canada account in his name.
In 1993, Riverside sheriff’s investigators searched the couple’s home in Scottsdale, Arizona. They seized receipts, including one for the purchase of duct tape in Palm Springs on June 1, 1990.
They found documents for travel to Anguilla and banking documents in Kubica’s name relating to the Anguilla account.
Kubica lives in the Shawnigan Lake area. He was behind a controversial plan to build 500 homes in the Cowichan Valley. He is being held in custody at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre.
