Defense tries to discredit police on day 2 of Dalia Dippolito murder-for-hire retrial

Boynton Beach woman accused of hiring undercover officer to kill husband

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ā€“ Defense attorneys for the Boynton Beach woman accused of hiring an undercover police officer to kill her husband spent the second day of her second trial trying to discredit police.

DaliaĀ DippolitoĀ is accused of paying an undercover police officer, who was posing as a hit man, to kill her husband in 2009. The Boynton Beach Police Department staged a crime scene and recorded her reaction on the day her husband was supposed to be killed.

The 34-year-old woman was convicted of solicitation to commit first-degree murder in 2011 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, the Fourth District Court of AppealĀ reversed the convictionĀ in 2014.

Prosecutors allege thatĀ DippolitoĀ offered an undercover officer $7,000 to kill her then-husband.

Defense attorneys BrianĀ ClaypoolĀ and GregĀ RosenfeldĀ claim the Boynton Beach Police Department violatedĀ Dippolito'sĀ constitutional rights by setting her up with the help of former lover MohamedĀ Shihadeh, who became a confidential informant for police. They argue that police staged the phony crime and invited the TV show "Cops" there to gain publicity.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after calling just two witnesses to testify.

The first witness was Officer Widy Jean, who posed as a hit man in his conversations with Dippolito.

Jurors heard audio recordings of telephone calls between Dippolito and Jean.

"The plan was for me to conduct the murder," Jean said.

A video recorded by the Boynton Beach Police Department shows Dippolito crying at the staged crime scene on the day of her August 2009 arrest. Another video shows Dippolito giving money to Jean, telling him that she was "5,000 percent sure" she wanted her then-husband dead.

Dippolito never testified during her first trial, but she said in a hearing earlier this year that she was acting for a television show and wasn't really plotting a murder for hire.

Prosecutors argued that Dippolito's willingness to provide the payment and key to her home made it clear that her intent was to have her husband killed.

Detective Alex Moreno also took the stand. During cross examination, Claypool attempted to discredit the word of the lead investigator on the case.

"Isn't it true though late (Wednesday) afternoon you told these folks on the jury that you could not give your digital recorder to Mohamed Shihadeh?" Claypool asked.

"That's not true," Moreno answered.

"OK, alright, we'll let the jury decide that," Claypool said.

Shihadeh was the first witness called by the defense to testify.

"You didn't want to get involved, did you?" Claypool asked.

"No," Shihadeh said.

"And did you tell the Boynton Beach Police Department you didn't want to get involved?" Claypool asked.

"Yes," Shihadeh said.

Defense attorneys tried to show that police coerced Shihadeh into becoming a confidential informant and that he never actually believed that she would follow through with the alleged plot.

"Did the Boynton Beach Police Department pressure you into going forward with this investigation?" Claypool asked.

"Yes," Shihadeh said.

However, when cross examined by the prosecution, Shihadeh admitted that he believed Dippolito truly wanted her husband killed.


About the Authors:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.