Dalia Dippolito’s murder-for-hire conviction in 2011 was overturned Wednesday by a Florida judge who granted the woman a new trial.
The 31-year-old Dippolito’s case was tossed by the 4th District Court of Appeal, which said the jury pool was tainted. Because of the case’s notoriety, the defendant’s attorneys in 2011 asked to question potential jurors individually but were denied the opportunity.
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Her attorney Robert L. Sirianni Jr.
told the Sun-Sentinel that Dippolito "just about jumped out of her seat," and added, "She was real happy and thankful. She wasn't provided a fair trial from day one."
A spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney told the Sun-Sentinel that the state will proceed with the case and Dippolito is still charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder with a firearm.
One juror on the original trial, Linda Kniffin, told the newspaper that she was disappointed about the court’s decision and that she had not heard of Dippolito before the court case, although she didn’t know if that was the case for all jurors.
Michael Dippolito, the defendant’s ex-husband, was upset that he has to go through another trial, his attorney told the Sun-Sentinel.
"He hoped for closure," the attorney said. "I've never seen a case with this amount of overwhelming evidence against a defendant."
Dippolito’s case came to national attention after she allegedly tried to hire an undercover police officer to kill her husband.
The appellate court said it “became apparent” that a number of
jurors were exposed to pre-trial publicity, Local10 reported.
"I'm extremely disappointed," former prosecutor Elizabeth Parker told Local10. "This is a case in which the evidence was overwhelming. ... The judges made their decision. We obviously have to respect that decision."
Parker, who works as a defense attorney now, wrote a booke about the crime, “Poison Candy: The Murderous Madam: Inside Dalia Dippolito's Plot to Kill."
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