Linda Ann Mafrice, 63, of Clearlake, and Meghan Mariana DeMarco, 29, of Kelseyville, entered the pleas in Lake County Superior Court on Wednesday, according to Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson.
Abelson said both women are scheduled for a disposition or setting of a preliminary hearing at 8:15 a.m. Jan. 15.
Both were arrested on Oct. 18 for financial elder abuse, grand theft, conspiracy, forgery and altering medical records, as Lake County News has reported.
The victim in the case is Dan Hamblin, Mafrice’s longtime boyfriend.
He also was the husband of Barbara LaForge, who was murdered in her downtown Lakeport frame shop in October 2002.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed to Lake County News last month that both Hamblin and Mafrice remain persons of interest in LaForge’s unsolved murder.
Mafrice and DeMarco are alleged to have coerced and tricked Hamblin into signing a deed to his residence at 10615 Fairway Drive in Kelseyville at a time when he did not have the mental capacity to consent to the transfer of his property.
Based on the investigation, they’re also alleged to have forged medical records and other documents to ensure the transfer went through.
The property was sold in June for $175,000 and they kept the proceeds, the District Attorney’s Office confirmed.
Mafrice also has a history of financial crimes for which she has served time in state prison.
Abelson said that, so far, both Mafrice and DeMarco are charged only with financial elder abuse; that charge offers the most time if convicted. She said some of other crimes for which the two originally were arrested “are just alternative charges for the same conduct but I will likely amend the complaint to add some as well as some auto theft potentially for the same victim.”
The women originally were held on $500,000 bail each. At her arraignment last month, DeMarco was released on her own recognizance, Abelson said.
In a separate appearance on Oct. 30, Mafrice also was released on her own recognizance over Abelson’s objections but at the recommendation of the Probation Department.
Attorney Angela Carter made a general appearance on behalf of her law firm Carter Brown for DeMarco on Wednesday. Komnith Moth, who works for Lake County’s indigent defense contract is representing Mafrice, who is seeing to obtain new counsel.
Carter told Lake County News that, so far, no financial records have been submitted as part of the case. “That is fairly normal in cases of this variety. The reports and information sometimes trickle in little by little. Accordingly, we set a court date in mid-January. That is longer than usual, but both the prosecution and the defense require records to proceed. I’m sure they will be forthcoming.”
In addition to entering a not guilty plea – which Carter said is normal in every case and gives her time to review the discovery and advise her client – DeMarco waived her right to a speedy preliminary hearing, since she’s not in custody.
Carter said she negotiated DeMarco’s release on her own recognizance directly with District Attorney Don Anderson, and said she believed Mafrice also benefited from that agreement. “It would not make sense legally to hold a co-defendant on high bail when the other was released without the need to post any bail,” she explained.
She added, “Keep in mind that there is new legislation scheduled to eliminate bail completely and these types of cases will not be required to have any bail posted, and release will be virtually automatic in the future if that legislation is not overturned.”
Beyond the January court appearance, Carter said she anticipates a preliminary hearing date in early spring, “depending on how much time the new attorney requires to prepare and how quickly the records are supplied to the attorneys.”
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Women charged with financial elder abuse enter not guilty pleas
Everybody says they're not guilty.
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