Man Accused in Decades-Old Palm Springs Killing to Appear in Court

A Canadian man accused of killing a Palm Springs woman nearly 30 years ago to steal almost $200,000 from her is due back in court Thursday.

Anton Kubica, 62, of British Columbia, is scheduled to appear for a trial-readiness conference at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Kubica is charged with first-degree murder for the 1990 slaying of 78-year-old Marie Darling.

Superior Court Judge Russell Moore in May denied a motion to dismiss the murder charge by Kubica's attorney, John Dolan, who argued there were no grounds to validate a murder count against his client because there is no forensic link between the man and the crime.

Dolan argued there was "serious prejudice" against his client because there was "zero explanation'' for the delay in charges, with no new evidence presented prior to the 2014 filing. He also argued that the delay complicates the case as it is "hard to bring on deceased people" in defense of his client.

Following a preliminary hearing in February at the Indio courthouse, another judge, Edward Forstenzer, found there was sufficient evidence to move the case to trial, pointing to Kubica's own alleged statement to an acquaintance that he had "killed someone and buried their body in the desert." 

A criminal complaint was filed against the defendant in 2014, but it took until last October to have him extradited to Riverside County from Canada. According to testimony from the preliminary hearing, among the items collected as evidence against Kubica was a Wells Fargo deposit slip dated June 5, 1990, for $2,000 found at the defendant's residence.

During the initial investigation into Darling's death, investigators found two safes at her condominium, one of which was open. An empty currency wrapper for $2,000 was found in a trash can near the open safe, now-retired Palm Springs police Detective Carl Carter testified.

In 1993, Carter led the murder investigation and went to Kubica's then primary home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"There was a plethora of evidence at his home," Carter testified. "It included a receipt for duct tape, travel to St. Maarten, manifests from St. Maarten to Anguilla in the Caribbean. There was a passport we located. We located banking information from the bank in Anguilla. We located banking information from the Royal Bank of Canada."

Darling's body was found by hikers on June 20, 1990, in the desert east of the Cactus City rest stop. An autopsy showed she had multiple skull fractures.

The remains were spread around an area of 200 yards, which surrounded a shallow grave that was "intertwined" with a sleeping bag, Carter said.

Darling's family attorney found that in June 1990, nearly $185,000 was transferred from her Swiss bank accounts to a bank in Anguilla, with the transfers accompanied by a letter signed "Marie."

Bank records from Anguilla allegedly showed Kubica withdrew $170,000 from the account, with some of the money transferred to the Royal Bank of Canada. Kubica allegedly established the Bank of Anguilla account on May 24, 1990.

Kubica is being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facilty in Banning in lieu of $1 million bail.