Jail No Bar to Wedding of Convicted Murderer : Nuptials: Daniel Duffy’s bride is happy to marry ‘such a wonderful man.’ He faces life in prison for triple slaying in 1980.
SANTA ANA — On the day that triple murderer Daniel Duffy was to be sentenced to life in prison, he exchanged wedding vows instead.
Duffy’s sentencing on Wednesday was postponed a day so his lawyers could review a probation report, but his marriage went off without a hitch.
“It was a rather poignant little ceremony,†said Duffy’s attorney, Michael P. Giannini, a witness to the couple’s nuptials. “Duffy was rather solemn and sanguine and the bride got a little teary. It was quite touching.â€
The bride, wearing a blue dress with white lace, said she was happy to be marrying “such a wonderful man.â€
“I don’t like the idea that they are prolonging his sentencing, but I’m glad it didn’t happen on our wedding day,†said Ilona (Brandy) Wood, 38, of Orange.
The brief ceremony, performed by a court clerk, took place in a holding cell at the County Courthouse. “It was pretty short,†said the bailiff, who was in charge of wedding security. “I don’t even know it went five minutes. . . . And no, I didn’t throw rice.â€
Duffy, 49, was convicted in July of murdering three men in 1980. Prosecutors contended that Duffy and Thomas Maniscalco, founder of the Hessians motorcycle gang, conspired to kill Richard Rizzone, Rizzone’s girlfriend and his bodyguard because they thought Rizzone had stolen profits from the gang’s counterfeiting and drug operations.
The jury deadlocked on whether he should receive the death penalty. The prosecutor chose not to retry the penalty phase, so Duffy will automatically be sentenced to life without possibility of parole.
The trial concluded the county’s longest-running criminal cases. Duffy has been in Orange County Jail for 8 1/2 years.
On Wednesday, Duffy was allowed to touch his bride only during an exchange of rings through the bars separating them. The groom was not allowed to kiss the bride.
Wood said she met Duffy about a year ago when she went to thank him for a kindness he had showed her brother, who was also in jail. She said he helped her brother beat a drug problem.
“He’s the nicest man,†said Wood, who works as a collections agent for the state. “I know he is innocent. That man has helped too many people.â€
After their first visit, Wood said, she came to see him regularly.
“We became best friends,†she said. “I’ve never felt a closer bond to anyone.â€
About two months ago, Wood said, Duffy popped the question.
“He called me and said he needed to talk to me,†she recalled. “It took him two days to finally ask me to marry him. . . . I chuckled, I laughed and said I’d be happy to.â€
Although she said she was excited and happy about her marriage, she also felt saddened that the man she loved was behind bars.
“I would like to touch him and kiss him,†she said. “But we’ll have to wait for our time.â€
Inmates in Orange County Jail are not allowed conjugal visits. But after Duffy is transferred to a state prison, he may be eligible for occasional overnight visits by his wife, prison officials said Wednesday.
As for her wedding night, however, Wood said she will be alone.
“I don’t think they are going to give him a weekend pass,†she said.
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