SANTA CLARA COUNTY – Murder for hire charges filed against a 68-year-old German Baldeon, a Gilroy doctor, were dismissed this week in what authorities are calling a plot by the assailant to try and blackmail the suspect for money.
Baldeon appeared in the Santa Clara County court house located in Morgan Hill in June of 2014, for a formal arraignment. The courts issued a one-million dollar bond for the Doctor, citing that they considered him a flight risk.
However, it wasn’t until recently that investigators with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, looking further into the allegations, discovered the horrifying reality of how a man who has now fled to Ecuador, evading U.S. extradition, plotted to kill the woman in order to blackmail her husband for money.
David Galvez is believed to be in Ecuador.
It is alleged that fifty-nine-year old David Galvez entered the home of 74-year-old Doris Knapp and stabbed her multiple times in the chest, killing her. It was believed that the murder suspect Galvez was hired by Baldeon in what authorities thought was a murder for hire plot to collect money on her life insurance policies.
Four months after his arrest Baldeon became a free man. According to Santa Clara County District Attorney Angela Berhnard “When we filed the charges all the evidence pointed to Mr. Baldeon’s guilt”. The murder suspect had fled to Ecuador making it impossible for authorities to detain and or question him. Berhnard said, “We determined that things had changed, based on that further investigation.”
Victim Doris M. Knapp-Baldeon image from her obituary page.
Outside the courtroom Baldeon talked with reporters. “I like this sunny day,” said Baldeon. “But my future, my sadness, it will be dark. I miss my wife. Thank you.” The negotiations into arresting the suspect for this crime are long from being over. When a person is wanted for murder, investigators and judicial authorities with the U.S. Justice Department and others will continue to seek justice for Doris Knapp by finding and arresting David Galvez for her murder.
