(Canandaigua, N.Y.) – Frank Garcia has been convicted for the murders of Kimberly and Christopher Glatz in their Canandaigua home on Valentine’s Day.
The jury of ten women and men deliberated for less than two hours before reaching a verdict.
Garcia was convicted on all charges: two counts of first-degree and second-degree murder, as well as two charges of second-degree kidnapping.
DA: Avalanche of Evidence
In his closing argument Thursday morning, Ontario County District Attorney Mike Tantillo said he could have rested his case following the testimony of Haley Fonda, Kimberly Glatz’s teenage daughter who was in the house at the time of the killings, but instead continued to present an “avalanche” of evidence that supported her testimony.
“After she testified I could’ve sat down and said ‘I rest,’” Tantillo said. “There is an absolute avalanche of evidence in this case that establishes this defendant’s guilt and corroborates Haley’s account of what happened.”
Kimberly Glatz and Garcia had both worked previously at the Wesley Gardens Nursing Home. Fonda testified that Garcia blamed her mother for his being fired because she had filed rape charges against him. She testified that Garcia was enraged and called the Glatz’s “liars” and demanded $25,000 for his wife.
“Do you think she’ll ever forget his face?” Tantillo asked the jury.
In defense of Garcia, David Morabito stressed problems he saw in the “chain of custody” of evidence presented at trial and attempted to establish reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury, saying, "Haley Fonda was not present when the shots were fired, she was in another room.”
The defense rested its case without calling any witnesses to the stand, including Garcia himself.
The prosecution argued that Garcia was not just guilty beyond a reasonable doubt--Garcia was guilty beyond any doubt.
Family Reacts
After the verdict, the Glatz family left full of emotion, pleased with the verdict they had hoped for, and overwhelmingly grateful for Kim Glatz's daughter Haley, who took the stand on the first day.
"Haley? It was over the minute she got up to testify! Without a doubt," said Christopher Glatz’ father David.
Kim Glatz’ sister Jennifer Chaffer said, "Thank you to our entire community for supporting us, for thinking of my niece and nephew, for respecting our privacy, for all your thoughts and prayers, support and respect, throughout this difficult tragedy."
"I'd like to be the one that sentences this fella,” David Glatz said. “And I'd like to be the one that carried out said sentence, according to ‘Dave's Law’."
Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced in Ontario County on September 1. He faces a possible life sentence.
Garcia is also charged with murdering two other people – Mary Silliman and Randal Norman – and shooting another woman at Lakeside Hospital in Brockport the same day.
That trial is expected to begin in November.
