An estranged husband accused of fatally shooting his wife in a St. Thomas hotel room appeared at a hearing Monday in Superior Court. Tizoni Mahoney was arrested Aug. 29, hours after the body of Marieni Heredia Tiburcio was found in a room at Galleon House.
The couple got married on June 16. Investigators quickly uncovered a pattern of abuse that played out in the weeks that followed.
At Monday’s hearing, the legal teams involved in the case advised Superior Court Judge Sigrid Tejo on the exchange of documents as part of pretrial discovery. The public defender representing Mahoney said they were still waiting for the medical examiner’s report and photos produced during Tiburcio’s autopsy.
Tejo advised the lawyer for the Justice Department to make the outstanding items available to Tizoni’s lawyers as soon as they are available. The Medical Examiner’s Office operates under the direction of Justice.
With that, the judge set the next hearing for June 12. Mahoney remains in custody of the Bureau of Corrections with bail set at $1 million.
The Tiburico murder case was one of several hearings on Monday’s docket for Courtroom 3 on St. Thomas. Also, before the bench that day was Clifton Boyd, accused of sexually abusing a minor while serving as an administrator at Joseph Gomez Elementary School. Boyd — a public school assistant principal who served on St. Thomas and St. John — was arrested Nov. 21 and is currently free on bond, pending trial.
The defendant sat in the courtroom behind the defense counsel’s table along with his wife, Sharon. Appearing with Boyd was defense attorney Clive Rivers, a lawyer known for his work with high-profile criminal cases.
Kelsha Williams — who appeared on Boyd’s behalf at his advice of rights hearing — stood at River’s side. “The purpose of the hearing is to clarify to the court who your lawyer is,” the judge said.
Rivers first notified the court of his representation in the Boyd case in December. Before the bench he made a brief statement, saying he was the attorney of record.
Satisfied, the judge set the next hearing in the Boyd case for April 7 at 9:30 a.m.
