Rapoza is guilty

The verdict, short of a successful appeal, ends a case rife with comparisons to the Scott Peterson trial, marked by gag orders to prevent Rapoza from speaking out on his own behalf and peppered with numerous attempts to fire his court-appointed attorneys. For more than two years, Rapoza said he was innocent and just wanted to go to trial so a jury could decide between two versions of what happened Oct. 6, 2002. Yesterday, after a 34-day trial, he got that wish.

Rapoza, dressed in a dark olive suit, cried as the jury returned its verdict shortly after 4 p.m. He was far from the only teary-eyed individual in the courtroom. Both his supporters and those of his wife's family openly cried in the galley which was also heavily filled with law enforcement and courthouse staff. Even San Mateo County Sheriff Don Horsley was in the audience to learn Rapoza's fate.

After handing down the verdict, jurors said they grappled over the degree of murder for the two children. Many said it was less clear if Rapoza thought about the consequences for them by trying to drive his wife and himself over the cliff.

"There was reasonable doubt," said juror Patty Dilko, who appeared visibly emotional while the jury was polled.

Dilko said no specific things swayed her opinion. Instead, she said, it was a series of small things that added up. She came into the case untainted by prior media coverage and said she didn't know if Rapoza might have helped himself by taking the stand on his own behalf.

The jury did enter deliberations with "very open minds" and methodically poured through every detail, Dilko said.

Although the jury came to the same unanimous decision, each raised different points as to what helped shape their conclusion. One juror mentioned the path of the minivan through the cliff's ice plant as a valuable piece of evidence. Others questioned detectives after the verdict about the vehicle's seat belts, wondering if investigators believed Rapoza meant to jump out at the last minute.

Raye Rapoza's sister, Robin, did not offer any comments after the verdict but prosecutor Al Giannini said he believed she and other family members were satisfied. Giannini, too, said he felt the verdict was "appropriate."

Giannini built his case around the idea that Rapoza had planned suicide for years. The 150-foot plunge off the end of Bernal Avenue was simply the fruition of years of paranoia, jealousy and manipulation, he argued. Witnesses testified that Rapoza often threatened to drive himself off a cliff if his wife ever left him. By that fateful Sunday morning, Giannini said, Rapoza finally made good on years of threats throughout a nearly two-decade long tempestuous marriage.

During closing arguments, Giannini focused on what 4-year-old Tehani must have felt as she fell toward the ocean and how Rapoza never apologized for his actions.

Defense attorneys Jeff Boyarsky and Connie O'Brien never denied Rapoza believed his wife was unfaithful or that her fetus was fathered by another man. Instead, they told jurors that the notions caused Rapoza to impulsively try to scare his wife by slamming his foot on the accelerator. Unfortunately, according to them, Rapoza's foot became stuck and he could not free it before flying off the cliff. His wife and children were his life, they maintained.

Raye Rapoza and her nearly 8-month-old fetus - a female the couple planned to name Sienna - died at the scene. Tehani Rapoza, 4, survived but was declared brain dead days later. Rapoza suffered severe injuries but was conscious and cried out, "My wife!" during his rescue. He was airlifted to Stanford Medical Center where he told sheriff's investigators he meant to kill his entire family.

"All for one and one for all," he said when asked why the children also had to go.

Despite the confession and the verdict, Rapoza's former employers still believe in his innocence and were heartbroken after yesterday's hearing. Not even the lesser second-degree verdicts or the chance of an appeal could assuage Patty and John Trayer's grief.

"He should be out. That would be comforting. He didn't kill anyone," Patty Trayer said.

John Trayer, who employed Rapoza as a craftsman, believes Rapoza's hospital admission was pushed by the heavy medication he was on for his own injuries. He is even more certain after a heart condition in the last week left him on Fentanyl and Verset, two drugs that caused him to question where he was 40 times an hour. The same foggy confusion is what his former worker had, Trayer said.

Although they are hopeful for a new trial, the Trayers said it would only be different if the case is moved to a new county because this one is "corrupt." They and Rapoza believe investigators lied about how they elicited the confession.

Rapoza himself pushed for a jurisdictional move prior to trial because he was afraid the furor over Peterson - also accused of killing his wife and fetus - had tainted the potential jury pool. That motion was denied, along with numerous requests for both new attorneys and to suppress his confession. Left feeling like his best interests were not being served, Rapoza often spoke out to media about his versions of events. Finally, his frustrated attorneys sought a gag order although it was later overturned.

Despite Rapoza's seeming willingness to talk prior to trial, he did not take the witness stand. Jurors, however, were given two important visual aids to help reach their decision: a trip to the actual crash site and a life-size model of a minivan's front end.

Rapoza returns to court April 20 to set a sentencing date. The delay gives probation time to compile its pre-sentencing report and for the defense to ready a motion for a new trial. The verdict leaves Judge Carl Holm no discretion in sentencing.

Rapoza did avoid a possible capital sentence. District Attorney Jim Fox decided against seeking the death penalty after Rapoza spent more than a year in custody.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.