Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: 'The Trial'

In Who Killed Maria Marta? Part 3, the investigation discovers a strange compound in Maria’s wounds.

In Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta Episode 3, the trial against Carlos Carrascosa gets underway and makes things even more confusing. Carlos is charged with a cover-up and murder, for starters, two things that somewhat cancel each other out. Then there’s the issue of witness testimony. As the episode shows, many witnesses told similar stories with some changes depending on the person’s subjectivity. Most gave differing answers on whether or not Maria Marta was wearing makeup or had her hair done in death.

However, the grimmest and confusing new facet of the case introduced in Episode 3 relates to Maria’s wounds. During the autopsy, the examiners struggled to open the wounds in her skull, and it was discovered that she had an element of cyanogen, which could be cyanoacrylate, an ingredient typically found in adhesive — like super glue, in her wounds. Once that came out, the media quickly latched on and made tawdry headlines accusing the family, or someone, of sealing three of Maria’s bullet wounds with glue.

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: The mysterious lack of police and the DNA samples.

In this episode, investigators dig further into the mystery of the police (or lack thereof) presence on that fateful rainy Sunday when Maria Marta died. According to Horacio, he called a friend and asked him to ensure the police would “go easy” on his parents when they came. But the police chief said he had been told to keep the police off of the family’s back. The night Maria died, no police came to Carmel.

As for the DNA tests, the family did eventually relent to testing, and all of them tested negatively. That doesn’t mean they’re automatically innocent, but it does mean Carlos and Maria’s siblings’ blood samples did not match the genetic profiles they found in the house.

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: Ines Ongay’s testimony

During the trial, Ines Ongay, another one of Maria Marta’s friends — who did not live in Carmel, testified that Nora “Pichi” Taylor admitted to her that they had “paid” to have things done the way Carlos wanted them. In Ines’s testimony, that included paying to have a proper burial and paying to avoid an autopsy.

In the courtroom, Pichi hotly contested Ines’s memory of their conversation, asserting that it made no sense she would admit to being an accessory of murder to Ines, someone she hardly knew. Both women refused to concede. Based on the footage of the argument between them in court, I wonder if Ines misunderstood what Pichi said that night.

Read. Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 2 recap: ‘Five Bullets and a Thingy’. light

She agrees they wanted to pay to get things done according to Carlos’s whims regarding the burial. Perhaps Ines misinterpreted what she said regarding the autopsy. Then again, I’m not sure I trust Pichi, either. She comes across as a little snobby and overcompensating. What does Ines have to gain from lying?

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: Nicolas Pachelo remains a suspect

During Nicolas Pachelo’s day in court, he didn’t really provide many facts. If anything, he just dodged the allegations tossed at him. Other Carmel neighbors testified that they saw Nicolas riding near Maria’s house on the day of her murder. He was recognizable because of his reputation. They called him “Voldemort,” because he was like this dangerous villain skulking around Carmel and rumored to have kidnapped Maria’s dog, Tom.

But Nicolas remained adamant that he had not been near Maria’s house that day and came off very arrogant in the courtroom. He’s a handsome guy with assets left to him by his father. His cocky demeanor doesn’t win him any favors with the general public. And even though he says he wasn’t where four witnesses testified to seeing him on October 27, he also says he’s sure they “believe what they saw.”

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: Timeline discrepancies

The episode returns to Carlos, who has a rather confusing timeline for that Sunday. He says it would make sense for him to have gone to the clubhouse earlier in the day, around 3-4 p.m., because the club president remembered serving him a limoncello, which he frequently drank. A waiter also said they saw him there. However, the president knows for certain that she saw him between 6-7 p.m., which Carlos firmly denies.

Many have wondered why Carlos would deny what could be a firm alibi, and some believe it could be because he’s covering for someone else. In Carlos’s own words, he thinks if he took the “bait” and said he was at the clubhouse during that window, they would have arrested Maria Marta’s brother-in-law Guillermo Bartoli or her half-sister Irene Hurtig.

It’s hard to convey just how complex the timeline is without showing the exact chart they outline in the docuseries. Still, basically, between Beatriz Michelini (the masseuse), Carlos, and the Carmel guards at the time, there are some eerie discrepancies that don’t account for each moment.

For instance, according to the guards’ testimony, she could not have been present when the first ambulance call was made because she was still waiting to be approved for entry into Carmel. “While this is happening, something else is happening in the house. While Michelini is here, Maria Marta is being murdered here.” Carlos claimed she had arrived at 7:07 p.m., around the time he made the first call, but in reality, it was 7:20 p.m.

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: Irene Hurtig’s testimony

Irene Hurtig was the only member of the family who could testify because the rest had been indicted. She claimed that when she arrived, she hear Carlos calling the ambulance, while Maria laid on the floor unconscious, and Beatriz hovered over her. She supposedly also heard Carlos calling the medical insurance company.

When she went in, she says she heard Beatriz yelling, “call the doctor,” while her husband massaged Maria’s chest, and Carlos told her he was handling the ambulance. In court, Prosecutor Molina Pico questions how Irene could have entered the house, gone downstairs to get their neighbor Dr. Zocolli, returned, and called the guard, all in under three minutes. “I cannot specify the times.”

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: The phone call analysis

During the trial, Pico used the latest technology to analyze what was previously thought to be background noise in the first phone call from Carlos to get an ambulance. Thanks to the tech, they were able to enhance the audio and hear the people at the crime scene while Maria Marta’s body was still warm.

Things like “touch her,” “bring her over,” “close the door,” “she’s dead,” “let’s go,” and other suspect phrases are shouted by those in attendance. All of which was clear evidence to the prosecutor that the family had tampered with the body. It was like getting a chance to see how these people acted immediately after Maria received six lethal shots to the head.

While the family initially testified that Beatriz was the woman at the crime scene, according to Pico’s investigation, she was still held up at the entrance gate at the time. If there were two men and one woman present at the crime scene — based on what was established during the investigation, Pico believes it was Irene, Bartoli, and Carlos.

In Irene’s opinion, Pico is merely moving the pieces to “match his preconceived notion,” which is a fair point, although it doesn’t completely make me believe she’s in the clear. Carlos asserts the other comments are all fabrication, and all he heard on the call was Bartoli yelling for Maria to survive while giving her chest massages.

At trial, Carlos remains adamant that he was at Bartoli’s house with Irene and the kids. He says Irene was not there at 7:09 when he made that call at his house. He’s not sure when she arrived but says it was sometime after the call was made. He believes, “without a shadow of a doubt,” that it was Beatriz the investigators heard in the background of the call.

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: Pico’s closing arguments

During Pico’s closing arguments, he says that he has presented substantial evidence to prove the family participated in a cover-up and asked for Carlos to be sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Maria Marta. Between the fake death certificate, disposing of the “thingy,” the alibis, trying to pin the death on unrelated third parties, the timeline discrepancies, his argument is pretty convincing.

But there is one strange thing; the Juarez cartel allegations are not mentioned. He previously said there were connections but had no proof, which Irene asserts means there are no facts and no evidence. Without that, he really doesn’t have a motive for the murder, either. The family claims the entire cartel thing was a fabrication.

The courts acquit Carlos of the murder, but they convict him for masterminding the cover-up, sentencing him to prison for several years. Carlos later appealed the verdict for the cover-up, and Pico appealed Carlos’s acquittal of murder. Pico then began to consider making a formal accusation against Irene and Bartoli for the crime.

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All four episodes of Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? are now streaming on Netflix.

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Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? Episode 3 recap: ‘The Trial’

By Mads Lennon | Nov 9, 2020