113:. Veronica Garcia was the star witness for the sisters' prosecution; she had cut a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of concealment of a homicide in exchange for a short prison sentence and her testimony. On the witness stand, Garcia claimed to have had no foreknowledge of the murder and claimed that she provided her boyfriend's gun to the sisters, which she believed would be used in a robbery. Garcia maintained that she did not see Margaret DeFrancisco kill Oscar Velazquez and testified that Velazquez was apparently armed, but neither the murder weapon nor Velazquez's weapon were found.
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she heard a gunshot before seeing
Margaret holding a gun. Lastly, Regina testified that it had been Veronica Garcia's idea to dispose of Velazquez's body. After six-and-a-half hours of jury deliberations, Regina DeFrancisco was found guilty of murder during an armed robbery. However, Margaret DeFrancisco's jury was unable to convict her. Reportedly, there was an 11 to 1 deadlock in favor of conviction, but one juror held out for acquittal. The juror purportedly could not believe someone so young could commit murder. One day after Regina's conviction, Margaret was released from custody on bail to await retrial.
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Garcia's testimony was corroborated by prosecution witnesses
Jessica Benitez, Luciana Macias, and Maria Constantino. Benitez testified that both sisters confessed to having killed Oscar Velazquez, and that Margaret had kicked the victim in the head "so he could die faster". Constantino testified that
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Regina DeFrancisco also took the stand at her trial. She stated that after coming out of her bedroom, Velazquez was in the living room shouting and cursing at her. She claimed that
Velazquez pulled a gun on her, and that she was curled in the fetal position begging for her life. She then stated that
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On July 7, 2004, Margaret DeFrancisco was called to the witness stand. She maintained that she killed her sister's boyfriend in self-defense. She stated how
Velazquez was angry because the sisters had tricked him out of $ 1,000, and that she shot him to protect Regina. Although Margaret claimed she
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to a vacant lot, where Regina used nail polish remover to ignite his body. An anonymous caller phoned 911 to report the fire, and after finding Oscar
Velazquez's body in the fire, he called 911 again. The sisters tried to sell the Camaro, but were unsuccessful, so they abandoned the vehicle and set
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The re-trial of
Margaret DeFrancisco began in November 2004, four months after her first trial. In a repeat of Margaret's first trial, Veronica Garcia testified for the prosecution, giving the same testimony. However, after this trial, Margaret DeFrancisco was convicted of first-degree murder.
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neighborhood, where he was shot to death and his body was wrapped in a tarp and set on fire. Following the murder, the two teenagers gained national notoriety when they became fugitives from justice, and they were apprehended separately in 2002 after their story was broadcast on
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reported that she was taken into police custody following a traffic stop and high-speed chase. Like her sister
Margaret, she was charged with murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. She later was extradited to Illinois to stand trial for the crimes.
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On June 6, 2000, Regina DeFrancisco called her boyfriend of three weeks, 22-year-old Oscar
Velazquez, to her home. The sisters' friend Veronica Garcia was also at their home. According to Garcia, she had given Margaret her boyfriend's gun, a
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it on fire. Regina and
Margaret immediately were questioned by police as suspects in the murder of Oscar Velazquez, but their stories did not match up. Before the sisters could be arrested for murder, both fled from the police.
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did not remember the actual shooting. She also testified that she did not tell the initial officers the truth because "We would've got in trouble" and "If I told the truth, I would've been there longer".
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were two teenage girls who made national headlines for the high-profile murder of Oscar
Velazquez, Regina's boyfriend, in Chicago in June 2000. The two women allegedly lured Velazquez to their home in the
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On September 9, 2004, Regina DeFrancisco was sentenced to 35 years in prison. On December 14, 2004, Margaret DeFrancisco was sentenced to 46 years in prison. Both women are incarcerated at the
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she saw Regina, Margaret, and Veronica Garcia loading Oscar Velazquez's body in the back of his Camaro and stated that Regina had confessed to orchestrating the crime.
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led to her capture at an apartment complex where she was staying with relatives. She was arrested for and charged with the murder of Oscar Velazquez and for
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Following the murder, Regina and Margaret reportedly robbed the victim, Oscar Velazquez, of $ 600. After that, the sisters drove Oscar's body in his
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For her role in the murder, Veronica Garcia was sentenced to five years. She served her time and was released.
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421:"Fugitive teen held in killing of trucker Viewer gives FBI tip after watching television show"
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After almost two years spent evading police, Margaret DeFrancisco was captured in
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Regina and Margaret DeFrancisco's trial began in July 2004. The women pleaded
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391:"Teen shot, kicked victim, ex-pal says 2 sisters on trial in trucker's death"
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590:"Younger sister free after mistrial Sibling convicted by separate jury"
196:"Stranger than fiction Sisters stand trial for shooting, burning man"
563:"Retrial begins for sister accused of helping lure man to his death"
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The DeFrancisco sisters' murder of Velasquez was dramatized on
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on March 24, 2002. An anonymous tip following a broadcast of
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338:"Sister convicted of murder must serve 46 years in prison"
141:. Each has filed appeals, but all have been unsuccessful.
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On October 18, 2002, Regina DeFrancisco was arrested in
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537:"Jurors labored to sway holdout in sister's trial"
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274:. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007
229:. Archived from the original on March 5, 2006
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365:"Witness in trial forgot to tell of gun"
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706:People convicted of murder by Illinois
637:Stefano Esposito (September 9, 2004).
312:"1 jury finds sister guilty of murder"
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561:Stefano Esposito (November 9, 2004).
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83:unlawful flight to avoid prosecution
681:American people convicted of murder
641:. Chicago-Sun Times. Archived from
565:. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from
512:. Chicago-Sun Times. Archived from
450:. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from
616:"Friend testifies in murder trial"
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671:2000 murders in the United States
592:. Chicago Tribune. Archived from
508:Stefano Esposito (July 8, 2004).
482:. Chicago Tribune. Archived from
446:Ana Mendieta (October 23, 2002).
423:. Chicago Tribune. Archived from
419:Crystal Yednak (March 26, 2002).
393:. Chicago Tribune. Archived from
716:21st-century American criminals
367:. Chicago Tribune. July 2, 2004
336:Jeff Coen (December 15, 2004).
198:. Chicago Tribune. July 1, 2004
17:Regina and Margaret DeFrancisco
37:. They were each convicted of
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618:. nwitimes. November 10, 2004
173:List of homicides in Illinois
389:Hal Dardick (July 3, 2004).
721:21st-century American women
588:Jon Yates (July 10, 2004).
535:Jeff Coen (July 13, 2004).
742:
478:Jeff Coen (July 8, 2004).
310:Jeff Coen (July 9, 2004).
676:American female murderers
292:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
247:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
139:Logan Correctional Center
272:"Margaret DeFrancisco"
691:Criminal sibling duos
79:America's Most Wanted
55:semi-automatic pistol
34:America's Most Wanted
696:Female criminal duos
645:on February 25, 2016
427:on November 10, 2013
397:on November 10, 2013
227:"Regina DeFrancisco"
39:first-degree murder
596:on August 23, 2016
150:Unsolved Mysteries
75:Rockford, Illinois
28:Unsolved Mysteries
686:Crimes in Chicago
539:. Chicago Tribune
516:on April 14, 2016
340:. Chicago Tribune
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649:December 22,
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156:Deadly Women
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111:self-defense
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711:Sister duos
163:on Oxygen.
52:.38 caliber
665:Categories
278:August 21,
233:August 22,
179:References
107:not guilty
92:. Chicago
62:Camaro Z28
288:cite news
243:cite news
133:Aftermath
41:in 2004.
167:See also
69:Captures
101:Trials
45:Murder
22:Pilsen
651:2011
624:2011
602:2011
575:2011
545:2011
522:2011
492:2011
460:2011
433:2011
403:2011
373:2011
346:2011
320:2011
294:link
280:2023
249:link
235:2023
204:2011
159:and
31:and
94:FBI
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286:{{
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