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Opening statements begin in trial of man accused of killing 84-year-old Leesburg woman

By Kelly Healey and Ty Russell
By Kelly Healey and Ty Russell
Opening statements began Wednesday in the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of killing an 84-year-old Leesburg woman.
Bernadine Montgomery was reported missing in June 2016. Investigators said they found enough proof to determine she was killed, even though they never found her body.
Prosecutors will try to convince a jury that David Mariotti is responsible for Montgomery’s death.

LEESBURG, Fla. — Read: 2 charged in killing of 84-year-old Leesburg woman

A jury of six women and six men, along with one alternate, will deliberate.
Prosecutors said they have evidence that Mariotti killed Montgomery and dumped her body. Police said they believe Montgomery’s body was dumped in the Ocala National Forest.
Channel 9 spoke with a neighbor shortly after Montgomery was reported missing.
"I just think this is an absolutely horrible thing for someone to do to another human being.  I mean, I don't care how desperate you are for money or whatever, to do something like that to a helpless old lady," neighbor Fay Craft said.

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Investigators said stolen credit card receipts led them to Mariotti but a motive is still unclear.
In 2016, investigators searched her home and a nearby lake, but after two years, Montgomery's remains have not been found.
Detectives said they found her car abandoned in a park, shortly after her disappearance. 
Montgomery’s loved ones said they hope the trial can help bring them closure.

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"So much time had elapsed since she disappeared, and we were all hoping for the best, but we kind of expected this," Craft said.
The trial is expected to last until early next week.
In 2016, Mariotti was arrested in a drug and contraband smuggling operation in Lake County.
In 2017, Mariotti tried to escape from the Lake County Detention Center’s maximum-security area with a broom handle and rope made of sheets tied together.

Cox Media Group

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