Monica Melissa Patterson files federal appeal of murder conviction

Monica Melissa Patterson, who is spending the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering a 96-year-old man and stealing tens of thousands of dollars from him, has filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Patterson, 57, who was the executive director of the Comfort House and a member of a prominent Hidalgo County political family, was convicted on Nov. 1, 2017 of orchestrating the killing Martin Knell — a man she befriended — on Jan. 28, 2015.

Her high profile trial at the time gained attention from state and national media and has since been the subject of documentaries and true crime podcasts.

Now, after losing bids for appeals in the 13th Court of Appeals and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Patterson is turning to a federal court in McAllen to make several claims challenging her conviction.

Those claims mirror her state claims.

Patterson claims ineffective assistance of counsel; false and flawed testimony from a medical examiner; that the state failed to produce favorable evidence; that there’s new evidence that her co-defendant recanted his confession; that she was prevented from adequately cross-examining witnesses; and that her trial and appellate counsel were ineffective because they didn’t raise a jury misconduct appeal.

In her first point, Patterson alleges that her attorneys at trial didn’t investigate or present expert testimony from a defense medical examiner, a cellphone location expert or from a financial expert.

Patterson maintains Knell died from cancer, a heart attack and natural causes. She also claims cellphone data would have shown that her phone was never at Knell’s phone, contrary to state evidence. She also maintains the amount of money she stole was falsely calculated.

Monica Melissa Patterson leaves the courtroom at the end of the day’s deliberations in her capital murder trial in the 370th State District Court at the Hidalgo County Courthouse Sept. 29, 2017 in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

“Had they investigated, met and defeated these testimonies, the results of the case would have been different,” the writ stated.

She again claims that Norma Farley, a forensic pathologist, presented false testimony that Knell’s cause of death was homicide.

Patterson also claims that her co-defendant — Angel Mario Garza — told investigators that Knell was alive after Patterson and he left his home. She claims he pleaded guilty only to avoid the death penalty.

Garza confessed to strangling Knell and is serving a 45-year prison sentence.

Patterson’s writ of habeas corpus also again claims that Garza has since recanted that confession.

In addition to complaining that she wasn’t allowed to adequately cross-examine witnesses, Patterson also claims that “at least five jurors admit that they were speaking to each other or a third party about the case while the trial was taking place.”

She says her trial counsel failed to move for a mistrial and that her appellate counsel failed to raise this on appeal.

No hearings in the appeal have been immediately scheduled.

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