Sarasota Herald Tribune

January 17, 1999
Section: A SECTION
Page: 1A
Jose Luis Jimenez STAFF WRITER

Daniel Alex Rocha started a high-stakes poker game with authorities soon after his November 1997 arrest for the murder of Sheila Bellush.

But it's unclear who won: Rocha will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars, and prosecutors acknowledge that they may have lost the only witness who could directly link Bellush's ex-husband, Allen Blackthorne, to the crime. And after talking with Rocha during the past 14 months, prosecutors now say that although Blackthorne may have wanted his former wife hurt, he may not have intended for her to die.

``I'm not so sure Blackthorne ordered the murder,'' said Chief Assistant State Attorney Henry Lee. ``(Rocha) may have ordered the murder.''

Rocha's cards in the negotiations had included a claim that Blackthorne, a wealthy San Antonio businessman who was Rocha's golfing buddy, was the impetus for the murder-for-hire plot.

In their hand, prosecutors held a 19-year prison sentence in return for Rocha's cooperation. Their ace was a promise to convict him of first-degree murder if he went to trial and to send him away for the rest of his life.

For more than a year, the prosecutors stood firm while Rocha told six different stories, begged for a lighter sentence and ultimately flunked a polygraph test. The situation culminated with closed-door negotiations last week that turned into fruitless shouting matches hours before a jury at the Sarasota County Judicial Center was to begin deliberating whether Rocha was guilty.

He was convicted Friday, just as prosecutors promised. Florida law says life in prison is the only sentence that can be imposed at the sentencing hearing scheduled for late February.

Prosecutors are proud of the Rocha conviction. But, as they said in court last week, they believe Blackthorne - who has not been charged and maintains that he's innocent - is ultimately responsible for Bellush's death.

With Rocha, they said, they couldn't determine exactly what Blackthorne's role was.

Although others have told prosecutors that Rocha told them that Blackthorne was involved, all of that is considered hearsay, meaning it's useless in a criminal court case. And prosecutors don't feel that they can use Rocha as a witness in a case against Blackthorne because his credibility would be destroyed by defense attorneys.

Of the three men charged in Bellush's death, prosecutors believe that Rocha is the only one who spoke to Blackthorne before the killing in Sarasota on Nov. 7, 1997. They believe that Rocha, after talking to Blackthorne in some capacity, arranged to have Samuel Gonzales hire Gonzales' cousin, Jose Luis Del Toro Jr., to harm Bellush.

The mother of six was shot in the head and her throat was slit twice in her Gulf Gate home as her quadruplets, then 2, toddled nearby. Prosecutors say Del Toro received $4,000 for the killing.

Gonzales agreed to testify against Rocha in exchange for a 19-year prison sentence. Del Toro remains in a Mexico City jail fighting extradition to Florida, where he faces a first-degree murder charge.

Although detectives hope to talk to Del Toro about the case, they aren't confident that he can give them information about Blackthorne, who also faces a wrongful-death lawsuit from Bellush's family.

Lee said Blackthorne remains a suspect, however, because none of the men charged in the case had a motive to kill Bellush, 35.

``The two people who know are Blackthorne and Rocha,'' Lee said. ``Allen ain't talking and Danny is lying.''

Lee said the problems with Rocha's negotiations started from the beginning.

Rocha, of San Antonio, was arrested there about two weeks after Bellush's death. Prosecutor Charlie Roberts flew there to talk with Rocha.

Rocha, 29, wanted to spend less than five years in prison for his cooperation. Roberts offered 19 years and there was no deal.

Rocha was brought to Sarasota last spring and negotiations began again. He gave three different versions of the murder-for-hire plot.

According to Lee: The first story involved Blackthorne ordering her shot twice in the head. Then Rocha changed to a ``just kill her'' order. Then Rocha said Blackthorne didn't want her killed, but offered a $50,000 incentive if she was.

``We checked out each of the stories,'' Lee said. ``None of them were true.''

In June, prosecutors charged Rocha with first-degree murder, providing the threat of life in prison.

Rocha's answer? He went public. He gave an interview to the Herald-Tribune, saying Bellush was only supposed to be scared so she would stop abusing the two teen-age daughters fathered by Blackthorne. If prosecutors sweetened the deal, Rocha said, he would provide a witness who saw Blackthorne give Rocha the $4,000 paid to Del Toro.

Prosecutors weren't convinced. They prepared for trial.

A week before the trial, Rocha's defense attorney, Jack McGill, wanted to talk about a plea agreement.

The attorney handling the wrongful death lawsuit for Bellush's estate, Ken Nunley of San Antonio, acted as a mediator for the parties. Any evidence Rocha could offer against Blackthorne would help the wrongful-death lawsuit.

McGill asked for a 12-year sentence. Lee and Roberts held at 19.

The trial began Monday in Sarasota.

Wednesday morning, with star witness Gonzales set to testify, McGill asked the prosecutors for more plea negotiations. The offer stood at 19 years.

Rocha declined; Gonzales provided damaging testimony.

That night, though, Rocha went to deal with prosecutors on his own.

He talked to detectives in a loud, expletive-filled shouting match. No deal could be reached.

On Thursday, the prosecution rested its case. Rocha, feeling he would be convicted, wanted to deal again. He agreed to take a lie-detector test, which he had refused all along.

``His first story was `Allen Blackthorne told me to shoot her twice in the head,' '' Lee said. ``That question was asked and (Rocha) said `Yes' and he flunked.''

Rocha continued to flunk and the deal was off, Lee said.

Rocha said Saturday he went into court on Friday thinking prosecutors believed him and a deal would be presented before the judge.

He thought he'd won.

``I feel horrible for the Bellush family,'' Rocha said Saturday from the Sarasota County Jail. ``I wish I had never met Allen Blackthorne.''

Meanwhile, prosecutors never believed him.

``We always knew (Rocha) was the key,'' said Lee. ``As far as I know, he may be the principal mover in this thing.''

Contact Jose Luis Jimenez at 957-5149.

Caption: Assistant District Attorney Charlie Roberts, center, speaks after the verdict in the Sheila Bellush murder case. Bellush's husband, Jamie, is at left and her parents, Don and Gene Smith, are at right.

STAFF PHOTO/BARRY McCARTHY