Imperial County D.A. responds to Salton City man accepting a plea deal
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez is defending his office’s decision to offer a suspected murderer a plea deal.
Marquez said the decision came down to one thing: 17-year-old T’neya Tovar‘s family wanting to find their daughter and give her a proper burial.
Abraham Feinbloom, 52, was arrested in connection with her murder after cellphone data and witness statements traced Tovar’s last known location to his home.
As part of the plea agreement, Feinbloom is required to show investigators where the rest of Tovar‘s body was, and just a day ago, Tovar’s remains were found.
Feinbloom pleaded no contest to charges of torture and manslaughter.
“We assessed the case and the evidence. We made a determination that he was looking most likely at 16 years to life if we got a conviction, and we didn’t know where the body was,” Marquez said.
“The family made it very clear to us that they wanted the body so that they could bury their daughter. That was something that was very important to them,” he added.
Under the agreement, Feinbloom also waives his right to appeal.
“Part of this position also he’s going to give up any appeal rights. In other words, he cannot appeal this. If we go to trial. And he loses and we get a conviction, he could appeal it in theory. Now he can’t appeal.,” Marquez explained.
Marquez says the searches were a collaborative multi-agency effort that spanned many miles.
“You know the saying, ‘a needle in a haystack’. That’s kind of what it was. So we have this vast territory out here in Imperial County, many places where a body can potentially be buried,” Marquez said.
“It was our department, district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s department, the Riverside Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside District Attorney’s office also helped out in this case, And helicopters and it was just tremendous amount of resources and manpower that went in trying to locate the body.,” he added.
As of now, Feinbloom has not made any statements.
“They’ll interview him. The prosecution can make a statement as well, and you know, just keep in mind the egregious facts in this case are going to be highlighted in there. And that’s for the judge to consider. And also those things can be considered later on if he’s up for parole,” Marquez stated.
In a message, Feinbloom’s attorney Melanie Roe wrote, “Several weeks ago, defense made an offer to resolve the matter with a plea to a reduced count of voluntary manslaughter (upper term) with conditions precedent to the settlement requiring the accused to assist law enforcement in the recovery of the remains.”
Roe alleges that “evidence at preliminary hearing was insufficient to support a holding order on murder as the People failed to produce any evidence of intent to kill, premeditation, deliberation and malice.”
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