Appeal filed in ‘Charli’ Scott murder case

Less than a week before Maui murder victim Carly “Charli” Scott will be remembered in a memorial, the man convicted of killing her has filed the opening brief in his appeal of the case.

Steven Capobianco, through his attorney, Gerald T. Johnson, claims there was insufficient evidence for a conviction and that he was deprived of a fair trail due to prosecutorial and juror misconduct.

Capobianco was sentenced nearly two years ago to life in prison for the 2014 murder of his ex-girlfriend, who disappeared while she was five months pregnant with his child on Maui.

In the sentencing, Maui Chief Judge Joseph Cardoza said Capobianco had lured Scott to her death. He said the 27-year-old defendant was self-centered for killing her and his own son because he didn’t want to be tied to Scott as her child’s father.

Filed Monday in the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, the brief argues that a rogue juror, in violation of court instructions, independently called nearly all of the other jurors to discuss the case, resulting in turning a hung jury into one that returned a guilty verdict.

The inappropriate communication took place while the jury took a week off following 20 days of deliberations. When the jurors reconvened, the verdict followed almost immediately, according to the court document.

In addition, the prosecution failed to submit phone records that would have helped Capobianco’s case and “argued inconsistent theories and made intentional factual misstatements in the hopes of exciting the passions of the jury” against the defendant, the appeal says.

Similar allegations were made by Capiobanco’s former attorney after the trial in a motion seeking a new trial. They were rejected by Cardoza.

Maui Prosecuting Attorney Don Guzman on Tuesday declined to comment on the appeal.

But Guzman did say he has given permission to let Scott’s mother, Kimberlyn Scott, have all of her daughter’s remains at a memorial Sunday planned outside the Maui County Police Department Morgue &Forensic Facility.

Guzman, a former Maui County councilman who was named Maui County prosecuting attorney nearly a year ago, said he’s working to instill victim-friendly policies in his department to help out situations like the Scotts’.

The remains, which have been kept in police custody as evidence in case of appeal, include two jawbones, five fingertips, a piercing with a small amount of flesh attached and a clutch of red hair.

The mother, who has campaigned for the right to give her daughter what she considers a proper burial, previously was told only the two jawbones would be allowed at the memorial.

However, that may still be the case, Guzman said, because while he has given the OK on his end for all of the remains to be involved in the memorial, the Police Department must still agree to the arrangement.

The police have their own concerns, he said, including making sure such remains are properly secured and ensuring that protocols are followed to avoid contamination.

Asked about the remains Tuesday, Maui Police Lt. Audra Sellers said in an email that no further information was available regarding Sunday’s memorial.

Meanwhile, Scott says she’s frustrated. “This is a nightmare,” she said about the mixed signals in a text sent to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Sunday marks the sixth anniversary of Charli Scott’s disappearance. Her remains were discovered in a brush area at Nuaailua Bay near Keanae in East Maui following an extensive search by police, family, friends and community volunteers.

Following a five-month trial, Capobianco was sentenced to a minimum of 50 years before being considered for parole.

During the trial, the pieces of Scott’s jawbone and other remains were entered into evidence. State law requires that such evidence be kept by authorities as long as any appeal in the case is possible.

“It’s very important to preserve the record and make sure arguments on appeal have not been tainted in any way,” Guzman said. “It’s just unfortunate the Scott family has had to endure such pain and suffering in our system. Sometimes justice is uncompromising, and in order to put bad guys away, you have to preserve the evidence for quite some time.”