Opinion ID: 6333191
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Stillwell

Text: Similarly, the District Court concluded in its Rule 33 Order that “LeRoux’s testimony at trial was not a critical aspect of the government’s case against Stillwell as to the jurisdictional element” of the conspiracy charge, 43 and we agree. As with Hunter, Stillwell’s presence in the U.S. when he conspired to commit murder was established by multiple items of evidence. The government submitted substantial evidence from Stillwell’s laptop computer, including a file titled “Hitman,” kept in a folder titled “Interesting Stuff,” which contained instructions on how to commit murder. 44 Those instructions corresponded exactly to the manner in which the Lee murder was carried out. These files were accessed—if not necessarily opened—in October 2011, prior to 43 Rule 33 Order, No. 13-cr-521-RA, ECF 796, at 18 (brackets omitted) (quoting Post-Trial Opinion, 2018 WL 4961453, at  n.17). 44 Joint App’x 695 (Trial Tr. 921:23–25), 702 (Trial Tr. 948:4–950:19). 22 Stillwell’s and Samia’s departure from the U.S. for the Philippines. 45 Stillwell then brought the laptop with him to the Philippines and the files were accessed again in February 2012, days before Lee was killed. The Government also provided evidence that Stillwell and Samia worked together closely while in the U.S. to prepare for their Philippines trip. This included evidence of a phone call between them on September 30, 2011, the same day Samia paid for Stillwell to apply for a passport for the first time in his life. It also included email traffic between Samia, Hunter, and LeRoux, discussing the timing of the Philippines trip in the context of when Samia’s “partner” would be “ready” for the two of them to “come [to the Philippines] together for [n]inja stuff.” 46 Stillwell essentially argues that he and Samia engaged in this extensive joint preparation for the Philippines, but Samia kept him completely in the dark as to the real reason for the trip, viz., to commit murder. In light of the evidence, and considering that Samia and Stillwell had known each other for more than seven years and worked closely together before, there is not a reasonable probability that disclosure before trial would have produced a different result. 45 Supp. App’x 306 (GX N226-28), 308 (GX N226-30); Joint App’x 696 (Trial Tr. 923:25–924:17); see also id. at 717 (Trial Tr. 1009:8–17) (containing testimony that the files may not have been opened). 46 Supp. App’x 103 (GX 400-46); Joint App’x 576 (Tr. 454:24–455:10). Testimony on the record revealed that “ninja stuff” was a euphemism used by the conspirators to mean murder-for-hire work. Joint App’x 761 (Tr. 1182:4–1183:1). 23