Jun 23, 2009 10:17 pm US/Eastern
Maria Catabay Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison
Must Serve 85 Percent Of Sentence; Will Be At Least 65-Years-Old Before Being Eligible For Release
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Dr. Paul Jarrett, M.D. and Gregg Jarrett R.N. at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games held in Los Angeles, California.
Aleta Jarrett/CBS
Maria Catabay, convicted of planning the burglary of a Coral Gables doctor and his son that resulted in their deaths, was sentenced to 30 years in prison from Judge Standford Blake on Tuesday in his Miami-Dade courtroom.
Last month, a jury found Maria Catabay guilty of plotting the burglary to cover up money she stole from his medical practice.
Catabay had been charged with first degree felony murder in the execution-style shooting deaths of her employer, Dr. Paul Jarrett, 82, and Jarrett's son, Greg, 47. The men were shot as they slept in their Coral Gables home in July, 2003.
Catabay was not at the scene of the crime, but prosecutors say she sent her boyfriend and another man to the house to retrieve a letter she had written the doctor, apologizing for having embezzled from him. The burglary ended with the men being murdered.
Under Florida law, a person who helps plan a crime in which someone dies can be charged with murder.
"The felony murder rule takes her finger and wraps it around the trigger of that gun," prosecutor Waksman told the jury as he displayed a photograph of the .22 caliber, silencer-equipped pistol used to kill the victims.
The state's best evidence against Catabay was a video-taped confession she gave police. The defense argued that the confession was coerced, that Catabay told investigators "what they wanted to hear" after twenty hours of interrogation with no food or sleep.
"At the end of that, I would bet you would sell your young," defense attorney Lorna Owens told the jury.
"You'd be saying 'give me the paper, give me the paper, I'll sign anything!'" Owens said.
A defense expert testified that Catabay has a "submissive, introverted personality," that would make it easier for police to persuade her to confess to something she didn't do.
Prosecutor Waksman called the coerced confession claim nonsense.
The jury convicted Catabay of armed burglary that resulted in an assault or battery. She could have been sentenced to up to life in prison.
She must serve at least 85 percent of her sentence by state law, which means she'll be at least 65-years-old when she gets out of jail.
CBS4 reporter Gary Nelson contributed to this report
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