Murder Accused's Manhood Defence

Had Francisca died in the most bizarre of accidents or was it foul play?

- Lianne La Borde

THE STORY SO FAR

Francisca Marquinez, 60, had been dead for up to 48 hours when her boyfriend Richard Patterson, 65, called his lawyer and asked him to summon police to her home in Margate, Florida. Francisca’s body had started to decompose, and it appeared that she’d choked or been strangled. But when Patterson was charged with murder, he mounted the most bizarre defence...

THE CASE...INTIMATE ACT...

It was October 2015, and Francisca and Richard had only been dating for four months.

But after being contacted by Richard’s lawyer, officers went round to her apartment and found Francisca’s decomposing body lying face down on the bed.

They also recovered a bag filled with paper towels and tissues stained with blood and semen.

Blood was also found in the flat and on Francisca’s hand.

A post-mortem found that Francisca showed no signs of trauma.

However, her body had already begun to decompose, particularly her face and neck, making bruises difficult to detect.

It appeared that she’d been asphyxiated.

But the medical examiner was unable to determine an exact cause of death.

Detectives were suspicious of Richard.

Why had he waited so long to call the police?

A week later, he was charged with second-degree murder.

And, as he went on trial this May, he launched a bizarre and shocking defence.

Richard claimed Francisca had choked by accident...

On his larger-than-average penis while the couple had oral sex.

Richard’s lawyer, Ken Padowitz, sent the prosecution photos of his client’s member next to a tape measure.

Next, he applied to the judge asking if he could present Richard’s oversized penis to the jury as evidence.