Woman gets 30 years in slayings of Coral Gables doctor, sonDr. Paul Jarrett, 82 — marathon runner, respected psychiatrist, doting grandfather. His son, Gregg Jarrett, 47 — hospital nurse, rabid fisherman, dedicated dad.
A court sentencing Tuesday was as much about their lives as it was the woman who brought about their deaths.
”The pain in my heart is always permanent knowing that my father and baby brother were murdered, shot in their heads in the house we grew up in,” Aleta Jarrett-Cortiñas told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stanford Blake.
The judge sentenced Maria Catabay, 44, to 30 years in prison for her role in orchestrating the July 2003 burglary that led to the murders.
A tearful plea from the woman’s teenage daughter, Ivana, 15, did not work.
”Unfortunately, Ivana, Dr. Paul and Greg Jarrett were taken from their family — and were taken forever,” Blake explained before announcing the sentence.
Catabay’s family erupted in wails. Ivana rushed from the courtroom, bawling. A family friend, Matthew Reed, punched his own head and cursed. Catabay’s lawyer, Lorna Owens, was reserved, but called the sentence “too harsh.”
The Jarretts were stoic.
‘Maria even wrote a letter to the judge one time a few years ago and called Paul and Gregg `alleged’ victims,” Aleta Jarrett-Cortiñas said. “These were real people and we had to make them real to show how important they were in our lives.”
“I think justice was served.”
Tuesday capped a six-year ordeal for both families.
Catabay had faced up to life in prison. With no prior felony convictions, she could have gotten just probation.
She was Paul Jarrett’s former office manager. Miami-Dade police said she dispatched her boyfriend and another man, Jose Barco, to the Jarretts’ Coral Gables house to retrieve a letter in which she admitted embezzling from her boss.
Barco fatally shot father and son as they slept, stealing the younger man’s gun and the doctor’s car. Barco is now serving life in prison. The boyfriend, Juan Carlos Fernandez, is awaiting trial.
In May, jurors acquitted Catabay of two counts of first-degree felony murder, but convicted her of armed burglary with battery.
A state corrections investigator recommended a 20-year prison term, calling Catabay the “the main cog in the wheel that set in motion the chariot of death and destruction of the two victims.”
Catabay, on Tuesday, sobbed while pleading for leniency. She pinned blame on her abusive boyfriend.
”I know there is still a lot of good in me,” she said. “I would like to become more actively involved with domestic violence organizations, attend formal training and reach out to women who may feel trapped like I once did.”
She even offered to assist prosecutors in trying Fernandez. Prosecutor David Waksman, who with Carolina Corona tried the case, called the offer “useless.”
”She is six years too late with that offer,” Waksman told the judge.
Catabay’s pleas went unheeded. Dr. Jarrett, before his killing, had discovered Catabay’s theft of thousands of dollars from his business account, Blake pointed out.
”Rather than firing her or calling police, he let her keep her job. He was going to let her pay him back,” Blake said. “I don’t think you could ask for more of a second chance.”
Contact: Law Offices of Lorna Owens 305-604-9777
email:contact@lornaowens.com
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