Dalia Dippolito, the Florida woman convicted of planning a murder-for-hire plot against her husband, should be considered a flight-risk after she discussed the story of another inmate’s escape, prosecutors said this week.
Her attorneys are asking that she be released while they seek appeal. Prosecutors argue that she shouldn’t be let go, in part because in a July 8 jail house call, she allegedly talked about a South Carolina inmate who escaped from prison by using a drone, and a dummy he hid in his bed.
“He put a dummy in his bed and had an 18-hour head start,” she said in the video obtained by WPTV.
Prosecutors also claimed house arrest was insufficient since she could manipulate people over the phone.
Defense lawyer Brian Claypool isn’t impressed with the state’s claim.
“I have not heard the actual CD but I’ve read the transcript,” he said, according to the outlet. “Assuming the transcript is reliable and trustworthy, the allegation from prosecutors of Dalia plotting an escape are fiction. Not one time does she make a comment to this guy James about any specific plan to put in place to have her escape from the jail. She brought this up randomly, as an article that she read in the newspaper.”
A jury found the defendant guilty for plotting in 2009 to get her husband Mike Dippolito murdered. The case got national attention after it was profiled on Cops.
Wednesday’s post-trial release hearing is just another chapter in a years-long struggle between prosecutors and the defense. The first trial ended in a conviction that was later overturned, and the second ended in a hung jury. The third finally resulted in a 16-year prison sentence handed down in July.
Correction – August 4, 8:59 p.m. EST: Prosecutors made their filing Wednesday. The original version of this article said they issued the claim on Thursday.
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