Sarasota Herald Tribune 

August 23, 1998
Section: A SECTION
Page: 1A
Jose Luis Jimenez STAFF WRITER

Daniel Alex Rocha may have the power to end the 10-month investigation into Sheila Bellush's murder. But he won't until he can secure a deal he likes for his testimony.

Prosecutors have acknowledged that without his help they are unwilling to arrest his golfing buddy, San Antonio businessman Allen Blackthorne.  Blackthorne, who divorced Bellush before she remarried and moved to Florida, has been named by Rocha and another suspect, Samuel Gonzales, as the impetus of the plot to harm the Sarasota mother of six, including quadruplets.
Blackthorne hasn't been charged and his attorney says he's innocent.

Rocha, though, admits he was involved and says he's provided authorities ample detailed information. In an interview with the Herald-Tribune last weekend, and in a seven-page letter Rocha gave to the newspaper on Saturday, Rocha said he doesn't understand why prosecutors haven't gone after Blackthorne.

``I've given five proffers. The state knows everything about this case,''  Rocha said at the Sarasota County Jail. However, prosecutors question his statements thus far.

During the 30-minute interview, Rocha also explained his version of the events that led to Bellush's death. He said he got involved not for money, but because he thought Bellush was abusing her children. And he said the plan was to scare Bellush, not kill her.

``It was not supposed to happen this way,'' Rocha said.

Some of his statements contradict a confession provided to authorities by Gonzales, who has agreed to testify against others in the case. Most significantly, Gonzales contends that Rocha instructed Gonzales' cousin, Jose Luis Del Toro Jr., that it would be easier to kill Bellush because there would be a better payoff.

Rocha said he didn't order anyone killed. Rocha blames Blackthorne for setting in motion a series of events that led to the murder, but he wouldn't outline all the details of conversations between him and Blackthorne.

``Allen Blackthorne completely denies having anything to do with what happened to Sheila Bellush, including even asking anyone to scare her,''  said Richard Lubin, Blackthorne's attorney in West Palm Beach.

Lubin said his client has an explanation for everything that has occurred, but won't share it until authorities close the investigation.

Since Nov. 7, when Bellush was shot in the face and her throat was slashed twice in her Gulf Gate home, the spotlight has shifted among a cast of characters implicated in the heinous crime. It is now shining brightly on Rocha, who could delay the investigation indefinitely if he goes to trial this fall.

Prosecutors charged Rocha with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in June after plea negotiations broke down. Although they're not seeking the death penalty, the prospect of life in prison provides a key bargaining chip in any plea negotiations.

But the only deal offered - a 19-year Florida prison term - was rejected by Rocha. And Rocha said he will not admit to the charges as they stand now.

``I am guilty of the conspiracy to commit assault. If they charge me with that crime, I'd go in tomorrow and plead no contest,'' Rocha said. ``I have been trying, with my lawyers, to try and put an end to this. There is no deal out there.''

Frustrated by a lack of progress in the case, Rocha broke his silence.

The motive

In early 1996, Rocha and Blackthorne met on a San Antonio golf course and cultivated their friendship on the fairways. From the beginning, Blackthorne often spoke of the bitter divorce between him and Bellush.

In July 1997, Rocha accompanied Blackthorne on a trip to Portland, Ore., to inspect Blackthorne's medical supply company. There, the talk turned to child abuse, with Blackthorne accusing Bellush of beating one of their two teen-age daughters, Rocha said. Bellush had since remarried and given birth to quadruplets.

``He went to law enforcement to try to correct it and he even tried to convince her to stop beating the children,'' Rocha said. ``From what I was told, it was unsuccessful.''

Bellush was arrested on a child-abuse charge in San Antonio during the summer of 1997. She denied the charge, which was eventually dropped, and moved to Sarasota with her new husband and their children in September.

Rocha said Blackthorne's tale of a father unable to protect his daughter touched him; Rocha has three sons, ages 7, 4 and 1. When Blackthorne conceived a plan to stop the abuse by having Bellush scared, Rocha said, he reluctantly agreed to help.

``I thought how would I feel if I was in a position where I couldn't protect my children? What would I be going through?'' Rocha said. ``Even though I know it was wrong, I thought I was helping a situation.''

Gonzales has told police in a sworn confession that he and Rocha would receive high-level jobs at a golf course Blackthorne would soon develop for their roles. Rocha said compensation was never discussed.

``I didn't get involved in this to make any money,'' Rocha said.

In retrospect, Rocha said, Blackthorne lied to him.

``I believe that he fabricated everything,'' he said. ``Sheila never did abuse those children.''

The plot

Rocha said the plan that ultimately developed was simple: Del Toro was to drive from San Antonio to Florida and intimidate Bellush. He said there was never talk about a murder or a beating.

Rocha's version contradicts Gonzales' confession to Sarasota County sheriff's Detective Chris Iorio.

Gonzales says Rocha, his former boss, asked him last summer to beat Bellush to the point where she could no longer care for her kids. Months later, Rocha offered $4,000 of Blackthorne's money - plus a bonus of $10,000 if Blackthorne regained custody of the teen-agers - to Del Toro for the beating. Rocha then suggested to Del Toro that it would be easier to kill Bellush to collect the bonus, Gonzales contends.

Rocha denies the allegations. He blames Blackthorne for the end result.

In his letter, Rocha wrote that Blackthorne asked to speak with Del Toro days before he traveled to Sarasota.

``Allen then wanted to talk directly to Del Toro and said he would pay more for the trip to Florida,'' Rocha wrote. ``I believe blackthorne got a hold of Del Toro before he left to Florida. Convinced him to kill Sheila.''

However, Rocha provided no evidence for his belief that the two men spoke.  Also, there is no evidence to support Rocha's statement in the 1,000 pages of evidence released by investigators so far.

Blackthorne's attorney called Rocha's statement ``100 percent absolutely false - fantasy.''

Before Del Toro came to Sarasota, Blackthorne hired Bradenton private investigator Chuck Chambers to find Bellush, Rocha said. Chambers did, and confirmed the address by having flowers delivered to her door.

``I did not get involved in a murder-for-hire. I did not know of any weapons, any guns, any knives,'' Rocha said. ``I didn't know that Del Toro had any motive at all to kill Sheila Bellush.''

A careful reading of Gonzales' testimony, Rocha said, proves his point.

``(Gonzales) says that Blackthorne did not order a murder, he ordered a beating. He also says he has never talked to Blackthorne. He says I am talking for Blackthorne,'' Rocha said. ``If I'm talking for Blackthorne and Blackthorne didn't order the murder, then I couldn't have ordered the murder.

``And I didn't order the murder!''

Days after the disputed conversation, Del Toro drove to Sarasota, slipped into Bellush's home and shot her once in the face, Gonzales said.

Bellush fell to the kitchen floor. The quadruplets were sitting on a couch in the living room. Worried that the noise of the gunshot and the 35-year-old woman's screams would alert neighbors, Del Toro grabbed a knife and slit Bellush's throat, Gonzales said.

Rocha learned about the murder that night. He said he immediately drove to Blackthorne's posh San Antonio home to break the news, and was surprised at his reaction.

``(Blackthorne) showed no emotion at the news of her murder. He only asked if Del Toro had done a clean job,'' Rocha wrote. ``He then told me to tell Del Toro to make sure if things got hot to go to Mexico.''

Rocha knew the police would discover his involvement. He said he wanted to turn himself in. But, Rocha said, a friend told him to seek an attorney, who advised him not to speak to police.

Gonzales turned himself in and talked, giving prosecutors enough evidence to arrest Gonzales and Rocha. Del Toro fled to Mexico.

When asked why he should be believed over Gonzales, Rocha said he is not a killer.

``Unlike Gonzales and Del Toro, I have a wife and children. I could never participate in the murder of a mother,'' Rocha said. ``I'm just telling you I am telling the truth. It was not supposed to happen this way.''

Rocha said he wants to put the case behind him. But Charlie Roberts, the assistant state attorney prosecuting the case, accuses Rocha of withholding information as a negotiating tool for a favorable deal.

``Mr. Rocha can take a polygraph and give a full, complete and truthful statement . . . at any time,'' Roberts said.

Those left behind

Rocha, whose friends call him Danny, is kept in a private cell at the Sarasota County Jail. With too much time on his hands, he thinks about family and friends on the outside, especially Blackthorne.

``I've tried to call him,'' said Rocha. ``He's cut me off.

He wonders why he's behind bars, while his golfing buddy is free.

``In Gonzales' statements, he not only implicated me, but he also implicated Blackthorne,'' Rocha said. ``But yet they decided not to go after him.''

Besides Gonzales, Rocha said, investigators have plenty of evidence.

``They've got Del Toro, myself, Chuck Chambers and about 12 other people who have come forward and given incriminating evidence about him, saying (Blackthorne) is involved,'' Rocha said.

``I think (Blackthorne's) back there at home in San Antonio and he is loving it,'' Rocha said. ``(Bellush) is murdered. He's not in jail. He's not looking at any prosecution, and I think he's laughing at all this.''

Roberts would only say that the investigation is continuing.

``Our interest is to bring all those involved in the murder of Sheila Bellush to justice,'' he said.

But some light was shed on the prosecution's approach to the case in June, when more than 1,000 pages of court records were released.

``It is emphasized by prosecutor Henry Lee . . . based on the information to date, he is reluctant, at this time, to pursue any arrest of Blackthorne feeling that a successful prosecution would be at considerable risk without the direct testimony of Danny Rocha,'' the records said.

In jail, Rocha's thoughts sometimes turn to widower Jamie Bellush, left to raise six kids on his own. Rocha said he would like to talk to him, but doesn't know what he would say.

``To tell you the truth, if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't want to talk to the person that's in my shoes,'' Rocha said.

Then his thoughts drift to the facts of the case.

``It's sick! The whole thing is sick . . . and I just pray to God that he forgives us all.''

Contradictory stories

Daniel Alex Rocha and Samuel Gonzales have provided similar information about the Sheila Bellush murder case, but they differ on several key points.  Gonzales' statements were given to authorities and are outlined in court records. Rocha provided an interview with the Herald-Tribune. Here are the areas in which they contradict each other:

* The plan to beat Bellush so she could no longer care for her children

Gonzales: ``Danny (Rocha) told me that he had a buddy that wanted somebody beaten up, a girl.''

Rocha: ``No beating. No crippling. None of that stuff. That is a lie.''

* The murder

Gonzales: ``Danny told Joey (Del Toro): `Yes, she can die, but it is up to you how you do it and if you want your $10,000, it would be the easiest way.' In my mind, I knew she would be killed.''

Rocha: ``Del Toro was only supposed to go down here and scare her. And that was it. That was the whole thing.''

* The payoff

Gonzales: ``Danny told me that Allen (Blackthorne) was thinking about opening a golf course and had some land already in mind of where to build it and that Allen wanted Danny to run it. Danny told me: `I want to take you with me, Sam, so you can help me.' ''

Rocha: ``I didn't get involved in this to make any money. This wasn't a money thing. I got involved in this to help a situation.''

* Rocha being categorized as a bookie by friends

Gonzales: ``I joked about beating someone because Danny is a bookie and he's told me in the past that he's had trouble collecting money and I've joked about going out and collecting for him.''

Rocha: ``I am not a bookie. I am a gambler. It's a passion I have . . . In 1995, I started my own remodeling business, purchasing old homes and remodeling them. It's what I did until this deal happened.''

* Their credibility

Gonzales took a sworn oath to tell the truth and testified before a Texas grand jury at the risk of perjury. ``This is all I know and I swear it is the truth,'' he has said.

Rocha: ``I'm just telling you I am telling the truth. It was not supposed to happen this way.''

Jose Luis Jimenez covers the judicial system in Sarasota County. He can be reached by phone at 957-5149 or fax at 957-5276.

Caption: Daniel Rocha says he was not part of a plan to kill Sheila Bellush and that her ex-husband is the one at fault.

STAFF PHOTO/MIKE LANG

Daniel Rocha's family, including his wife, Eva, and sons, Anthony, seated, Ryan, top, and Adrian, right, came from San Antonio to Sarasota to visit him in jail. The Rochas say they have been harassed since the crime came to light, and have even had to change their phone number.