Hayward Man To Represent Himself In Castro Valley Murder Trial
CASTRO VALLEY (CBS SF) -- A judge Tuesday reluctantly granted a motion by a 20-year-old Hayward man to be allowed to represent himself in a case in which he and another man are accused of murder for the strangulation death of a Castro Valley woman whose home was also set on fire.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Rolefson granted the motion by Cody Nicosia shortly before jury selection was to begin in the case.
Nicosia's legal move won't delay his trial and jury selection is still expected to begin next week.
Nicosia and co-defendant Christian Birdsall, 18, are charged with murder, arson and the special circumstance of committing a murder during a robbery in connection with the Oct. 17, 2012, death of 58-year-old Barbara Latiolais. They both face life in prison without the possibility of parole if they're convicted.
Birdsall will be prosecuted separately at a later date.
Nicosia was 18 years old at the time of the crime and Birdsall was only 16 years old but both are being prosecuted as adults.
Latiolais' body was found at about 12:15 a.m. the next morning after the house in the 2400 block of San Carlos Avenue was set on fire, Alameda County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.
Nelson said an investigation determined that Birdsall and Nicosia had a plan to steal guns and money from the home that Latiolais shared with her longtime boyfriend, retired San Francisco firefighter Michael Rice.
Birdsall knew the couple because he's a distant relative of Rice and had done some yard work for them, Nelson said. The two teens planned their crime for Oct. 17, 2012, because they knew Rice was out of the state at that time, he said.
Birdsall attended Redwood High School in Castro Valley and was living with Nicosia, who graduated from Castro Valley High School in June 2012, and Nicosia's father in Hayward, according to Nelson.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Dickson said the two teens arrived at the home around 8 a.m. on Oct. 17, 2012, and waited for four or five hours for Latiolais to leave, but when she continued to stay in the house, they decided to go inside and "made the decision to kill her."
Latiolais let Birdsall inside after he knocked on her door and said he wanted to do additional yard work, Nelson said.
Birdsall then opened the back door for Nicosia, who hid in the house for nearly an hour before grabbing Latiolais from behind and choking her to make her pass out.
The two teens next took guns, rare coins, jewelry and cash from the house and when they heard Latiolais making noises that indicated she was still alive they took a rope and strangled her to death.
Birdsall and Nicosia then drove off with the loot in the couple's Volvo and had a late lunch at a local restaurant, according to Nelson.
Nelson said Birdsall and Nicosia later realized that "they left a dead body and evidence behind" so they returned to the home at about 10:30 p.m. that night to set the house on fire in an attempt to cover up evidence in the case.
Until Tuesday Nicosia had been represented by veteran defense attorney Richard Humphrey of Oakland. Humphrey will remain in the case as a legal adviser to Nicosia.
Judges usually advise defendants not to represent themselves but defendants have a constitutional right to represent themselves.
The reason that Nicosia wants to represent himself wasn't disclosed. Rolefson held a closed hearing on Nicosia's motion before he granted it.
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