Confessed killer Kody Patten has once again agreed to plea guilty to the murder of 16 year old Micaela Costanzo in exchange for his life.
According to his attorney John Ohlson agreed to the deal Friday afternoon and will formally enter it in Elko District Court Wednesday.
[media id=13 width=320 height=240]
The plea bargain is almost identical to a January agreement Patten first agreed to and then rejected just hours before the change of plea was supposed to be entered.
“It was the sensible thing to do,” Ohlson said Friday, adding that if some of the details about the killing came out at trial, “it would be difficult to avoid the death penalty.”
Patten’s sudden refusal to take the earlier deal had a far ranging implication. Less than 24 hours after the news broke that the plea bargain was busted, Fratto copped her own deal with the DA. And Fratto’s testimony against her former boyfriend is devastating.
[media id=2 width=320 height=240]
“Before she gave her affidavit the chances of patten getting the death penalty were pretty slim,” said a source close to the case. “Yes the DA had the confession but the defense had some pretty good supposed mitigating factors as well as another defendant they could pin some of the guilt on who wouldn’t testify against Kody. After her plea and especially after her affidavit the all that change. That (the affidavit) is a death penalty affidavit.”
In a three and a half hour interrogation by Elko District Attorney Marc Torvinen, Fratto gave the prosecution evidence that could put Patten on death row. According to her attorneys Fratto told the District Attorney that Patten spent more than a week planning Costanzo’s murder to the last detail.
Fratto also told the DA that after he had abducted Costanzo from West Wendover high school, Patten sent her a text message and a photo of his young victim while Fratto attended a Wendover Recreation district meeting where her mother Cassie is a board member.
“If the District Attorney uses her as a witness and she is believed by the jury her testimony pretty much proves premeditation,” said Lockie in an interview with the High Desert Advocate three weeks ago.
Despite Fratto’s affidavit and her promise to testify against her form lover, questions still remained on if the DA would use the girl given what was described as frail mental state and lack luster appearance.
Those doubts may have evaporated Friday with the airing of Fratto’s jail house interview with CNN reporter, Anderson Cooper.
“She didn’t appear to be meek or unstable,” said a reporter who previewed the interview. “If I was Kody I wouldn’t want her to take the stand against me.”
Wow! Now we can support both worthless pieces of garbage for years! Pretty sad! They get to live and that is justice…sad!
Death penalty or not, we have to support all worthless pieces of garbage sitting on death row. They need to change the death penalty to immediately after you’ve been sentenced to death row. My opinion!!
Scary to think he will be out when he is 50! A life sentence should be the remainder of his worthless life and not 20 years ( in some cases 30)
They should NOT have offered him another plea after his denial of the first one. Although Im glad celia and family will not have to go through a trial they should hopefully be able to hear the truth.
Kody and Toni should be getting the death penalty for this hidious murder of Micaela. Neither one should be even getting the chance of freedom. Neither one os remorseful for their crime. Their are sad they were caught. All the lies, back and forth, it’s a bunch of BS.
I pray they hear the truth! Sadly, neither Kody or Toni knows how to tell the truth, though!