A former Florida escort who was convicted of trying to hire a hitman and featured on “Cops” and “20/20” is heading to prison after being denied bond on Wednesday.
A judge rejected Dalia Dippolito’s request to go free on house arrest as she appeals her June conviction of solicitation of first-degree murder.
In her third trial, a jury had found that the 34-year-old Dippolito had tried to hire a hit man to murder her newlywed husband. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison last month.
Palm Beach County Judge Glenn Kelley questioned the defense team’s strategy as he made his latest ruling.
“The defense, essentially, objected to everything,” the judge wrote, according to the Palm Beach Post. “Some of these objections had merit, some did not, and some — candidly — bordered on the frivolous.”
Dippolito was recorded telling an undercover detective she was “5,000 percent sure” she wanted her husband dead. However, a 2011 conviction and 20-year sentence were thrown out on appeal, and a retrial last year resulted in a hung jury.
“People will say, ‘You’re really lucky to be alive,'” Michael Dippolito said last month in court. “I guess but I can’t get to that because I had to deal with this nonsense for nine years.”
The cooperation of Boynton Beach authorities with the TV show “Cops” had been a key part of Dalia Dippolito’s defense. Her lawyers argued detectives manipulated her and their investigation to play to the cameras.
In addition to the TV coverage, the case was featured in a book by prosecutor Elizabeth Parker, who famously labeled Dalia Dippolito as the “murderous madam.”
The judge did note during his ruling that he is sending Dalia Dippolito to prison even though she had a child while under house arrest last year.
“Parenthood is, of course, to be celebrated,” Kelley wrote, according to the Palm Beach Post. “The court has no issue with the fact that the defendant chose to have a child while on in-house arrest and is in no way critical of the decision. To be clear, the court does not seek to punish the defendant for having a child.”
With News Wire Services
