Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Noel Montalvo

York, Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer represent NoelMontalvo who was charged with 44-year-old Miriam Ascnsio and 37-year-old Nelsn Lugo.



[Noel] is the brother of Milton Montalvo ("Milton"). In 1995, Milton and his common law wife, Miriam Ascencio ("Miriam"), moved from Puerto Rico to York County, Pennsylvania. The couple frequently fought, and, around March 1998, Milton moved out of the couple's apartment. On the evening of April 18, 1998, Miriam was seen at a local bar with a friend, Nelson Lugo a/k/a Manuel Santana ("Nelson"). At some point during the evening, Miriam and Nelson left the bar and walked to Miriam's apartment. Later that evening, Vincent Rice, Miriam's next-door neighbor, was awakened sometime after 11:30 p.m. by the sound of breaking glass on the common porch he shared with Miriam. Rice reported hearing Milton shout "open the door," after which he heard additional noises coming from the apartment. The following day, April 19, 1998, Rice looked through the window of Miriam's apartment and observed a man lying on the floor; at this point, he summoned the police.



When the police arrived at the scene, they observed that one pane of a four-pane window in the door to Miriam's apartment was broken; the broken pane was the closest to the door lock. Upon entering the apartment, the officers discovered Nelson's body in the kitchen and Miriam's body in the bedroom. Nelson had defensive wounds on his hands, his fingers were nearly severed, and he had a lipstick inserted in his mouth. Nelson's autopsy revealed that he died from a stab wound to the chest. Miriam had a broken nose, stab wounds to her eyes, and her head was nearly severed from her body. She was naked from the waist down, and her underwear was around her face. She was lying with her head on a pillow, and a high-heeled shoe was found under her buttocks. Miriam's autopsy revealed that she died from sharp force and blunt force injuries to her head and neck.



According to the trial testimony of Chris Ann Arrotti, a chemist employed with the Pennsylvania State Police, forensic testing was conducted on more than 70 items collected from the crime scene; approximately 17 of those items contained traces of human blood. Of the items that contained traces of human blood, two of the items contained traces of blood which did not belong to either victim: a white cloth bag found on a sofa bed near Miriam's body, and a kitchen window blind. The blood on both of those items was determined to belong to Milton Montalvo. Milton Montalvo's blood also was found on glass that remained in the broken window pane, and a hair collected from Nelson's hand was determined to belong to Milton Montalvo. There was no blood, hair, or fiber evidence that linked [Noel] to the scene of the murders.



An arrest warrant was issued for Milton, and, in 1999, he was captured in Florida, and extradited to York County to stand trial for the murders of Miriam and Nelson. Ultimately, he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, and, on February 14, 2000, he was sentenced to death. Approximately two months before Milton was arrested, Detective Roland Comacho, purportedly based on a statement given to him by Esther Soto, sought and obtained an arrest warrant for [Noel], charging him as a possible accomplice or participant in the murders. [Noel] remained a fugitive until 2002, at which time he was discovered living under an assumed name, with an altered appearance, in Hudson County, New Jersey. [Noel] was extradited to York County to stand trial, at which he was represented pro hac vice by Francis Cutruzzula, Esquire. Frank Arcuri, Esquire served as local counsel.



In his opening statement at [Noel's] trial, the prosecutor suggested that [Noel] wanted to kill Miriam because he "was angry with Miriam because the ties with Milton had broken down," and because Miriam knew that [Noel] "was living in this country under an alias having escaped from parole for automobile theft in Puerto Rico." The Commonwealth further posited that the victims' different injuries demonstrated that two different weapons were used - a knife and some other blunt object - and,



therefore, that there must have been two assailants.



In addition to the above-described testimony of Vincent Rice, Miriam's next-door neighbor, the Commonwealth presented at trial the testimony of Miriam's downstairs neighbor, Fedelio Morrell. Morrell testified that, on the night of the murders, sometime between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m., he saw Milton at Miriam's door, and heard him tell her to open the door. Morrell also heard Milton shout that he had seen someone go into Miriam's apartment. Morrell recounted that, approximately 20 minutes later, he heard a woman's voice say "call the police, call the police," and then he fell asleep. Morrell testified that, 20 minutes after he fell asleep, he heard "noise on the floor and on the walls and something being dragged."



The Commonwealth also presented Nici Negron, who operated a towing business, as a witness. Negron testified that Milton called him at around midnight on April 18, 1998, and when he arrived approximately one-half hour later at the location Milton specified, he observed Milton, "a pregnant [woman], and Milton's brother" inside or nearby Milton's Dodge van.



Patricia Ascen[c]io, Miriam's niece, was also called as a witness by the Commonwealth. Patricia testified that she and her boyfriend, Angel Santos ("Angel"), went to [Noel's] apartment at approximately 9:00 p.m. on the evening of the murders so that [Noel's] wife, who was known as "Ketty" or "Kathy," could do Patricia's hair. Patricia stated that she saw Milton at the apartment at approximately 9:30 p.m., but that Milton left at around 10:00 p.m. Patricia testified that she and Angel left the apartment at approximately 11:00 p.m., and the only individuals present when they left were [Noel], Ketty, and [Noel's] son.



As the Commonwealth was unable to locate Angel Santos at the time of trial, the parties agreed to allow Angel's statements to Detective Lisa Daniels to be introduced through Detective Daniels' testimony. According to the police report prepared by Detective Daniels, Angel reported that he and Patricia were at [Noel's] apartment with [Noel] and [Noel's] wife at approximately 12:30 a.m. on the morning of April 19, 1998; that Milton arrived sometime later and appeared "upset," "agitated," "hyped," and "sweating profusely"; that Milton asked [Noel], and then Angel, for $20; that Milton left the apartment between approximately 1:15 and 1:30 a.m. on the morning of April 19; and that he and Patricia left the apartment at approximately 2:00 a.m. that same morning. City of York Police Dep't Supplement to Complaint Report, 4/19/98; N.T. Trial, 3/13/03, at 580-81.



The only evidence presented by the Commonwealth to connect [Noel] to the murders was the testimony of Esther Soto ("Esther"). Esther testified that, on the afternoon of April 18, 1998, Milton visited the grocery store she operated with her husband at the time, Miguel Soto ("Miguel"). Esther testified that Milton used the store's telephone to call Miriam about unemployment checks she had received in the mail, that an argument ensued, and that she heard Milton shouting at Miriam over the telephone. As Milton was shouting at Miriam, [Noel] entered the store and approached Milton. According to Esther, after Milton ended his telephone call, she heard him tell [Noel] that he wanted to kill Miriam. [Noel] told Milton to "leave it to him," and stated that he would kill Miriam himself.



Esther recounted that, later that evening, after she and Miguel were asleep,



Milton and [Noel] arrived at their house. Esther stated that she remained in bed while Miguel opened the door, and then she overheard Milton and [Noel] describe to Miguel how they murdered Miriam and Nelson. Esther also testified that she recalled hearing [Noel] tell her husband that he killed Miriam by cutting her throat, stabbing her in the eyes, and kicking her as she lay on the floor. According to Esther, Milton and [Noel] wanted to stay at her house, but she and Miguel told them they could not stay; Miguel then gave them some money, and Milton and [Noel] stated they were going to Florida.



Esther claimed that, a day or so after the murders, she saw in the newspaper a telephone number for individuals who had information regarding the murders, and that, approximately two weeks after the murders, she called the police. Thereafter, Esther gave a recorded statement to Detective Comacho, telling him that she had overheard Milton tell Miguel that he killed Nelson, and that she overheard [Noel] tell Miguel that he killed Miriam.



On cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Esther regarding her testimony that she called the police two weeks after the murders, when, in fact, she did not give a statement to Detective Comacho until December 12, 1998, nearly eight months later. Although Esther initially indicated that she did not remember, she then admitted that she only contacted police at that time because she was "trying to get [her] van back" after it was taken into custody by Detective Comacho. Id. at 661.



Additionally, after Esther admitted on direct examination that, when testifying at Milton's trial, she repeatedly stated that she did not remember any statements made by [Noel], defense counsel asked Esther whether, in light of her changed testimony at [Noel's] trial, she was admitting to lying during her testimony at Milton's trial. Id. at 638. Esther repeatedly stated that she "doesn't lie," and she maintained that she did not believe that claiming she didn't remember something was the same as lying. Id. at 638-39. Defense counsel also confronted Esther with, inter alia , the fact that, at Milton's preliminary hearing on May 20, 1999, Esther testified that Milton, not [Noel], told her and her husband on the morning of April 19, 1998 that Milton killed Miriam. Id. at 647. Esther responded: "I get nervous that day. I was so nervous all the time I'm nervous. I'm not the same person, okay." Id. at 649.



When asked by defense counsel if she lied when she testified at Milton's trial



Specifically, at Noel's trial, Detective Comacho testified that police had entered information regarding Milton Montalvo's Dodge van into the National Crime Index Computer ("NCIC") system, but erroneously entered the license plate of Miguel Soto's van, a Ford Aerostar. N.T. Trial, 3/18/04, at 199. As a result, when Miguel attempted to obtain the required registration for his van, there was a "pop up NCIC hit" for the homicide involving Milton. Id. at 199. Miguel was instructed by PennDot personnel to go to the Lancaster City Police Department, where he was met by Detective Comacho and another officer. Detective Comacho interviewed Miguel, and, upon "figuring out that he had some sort of connection to Milton," asked Miguel "what information ... he had about the homicide." Id. at 200. According to Detective Comacho, Miguel stated that his wife, Esther, "also had information around," and the detective told Miguel he needed to speak with Esther. Id. At that point, Detective Comacho drove to Miguel's store, where he took possession of Miguel's van and placed it in the city garage. Detective Comacho reiterated to Miguel at that time that he "needed to talk to Esther." Id. at 201. Several days later, Esther went in for an interview with Detective Comacho.



that Detective Comacho had "forced" her to change her testimony at [Noel's] trial; that Detective Comacho "forced her to give the statement" that she gave; that the detective told her that if she didn't "say what he said[,] my business would be closed and I would go to jail and I won't see my kids," id. at 639-40, Esther responded, "[f]or me that is not lying." Id. at 640. When asked if she saw Detective Comacho in the courtroom at [Noel's] trial, Esther identified him, and when asked "is that the detective that forced you to give this statement back in December of 1998?," she replied: "[y]es." Id. at 666.



Esther's testimony also conflicted with the testimony given by her husband Miguel Soto, a defense witness. Miguel testified that, in the early morning hours of April 19, 1998, his wife woke him up because someone was knocking at the door. N.T. Trial, 3/18/03, at 245. Miguel answered the door to Milton and [Noel]. Id. When asked what, if anything, Milton said to him when he opened the door, Miguel replied, "Milton told me -- I don't want to say this -- that he had killed his wife." Id. Miguel testified that Milton did not explain how he killed his wife, but simply stated that "he had problems with the police because he had killed his wife," and that "he had to leave and he wanted to know if he could leave his brother -- and that's when I found out [Noel] was his brother -- could stay at my house." Id. Miguel testified that Esther was upstairs when Milton made this statement. Id. at 246. After approximately 25 minutes, Miguel told them he did not want any problems and that Esther did not want them staying in the house, so they left. Id. at 247. When asked on cross-examination why he did not go to the police, Miguel explained that he intended to go to the police, but Esther convinced him not to do so because it would cause problems. Id. at 248-49. Miguel testified that he told Detective Comacho that Milton admitted to killing his wife when Miguel was interviewed by the detective nine months later, in November 1998, when he had problems obtaining the registration for his vehicle. Id . at 263.

Defendant was found guilty on two counts of murder, burglary, and conspiracy.



Montalvo was not guilty.



On December 19, 2023, Noel Montalvo pled guilty to tampering with evidence by helping Milton leave York County after the murders. The other charges were dismissed, and he was released from prison.