On Thursday May 14, 2015 the Sacramento County District Attorney dismissed the case of child murder against Wendell Taghap for lack of evidence. The prosecution of Mr. Taghap for the murder of his five-month-old nephew ended in a mistrial with a jury voting 10-2 for acquittal in December 2014. 

 

After the mistrial Mr. Taghap rejected an offer of up to an 11-year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter. Mr. Taghap refused to plead guilty to the murder of his nephew, choosing to face re-trial in order to clear  his name. If convicted in the retrial, Mr. Taghap faced 25 years to life in prison.

 

Mr. Taghap, who remained in custody during the 2014 trial, was released on bail after the mistrial, a legal rarity in murder cases, particularly in Sacramento County. 

 

With retrial set for May 19, 2015, the office of the district attorney moved to dismiss the case against Mr. Taghap, citing insufficiency of evidence.   

 

© Saria & Saria, Attorneys at Law, 2015.