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Platz to be sentenced Friday

William Ferchland, Tahoe Daily Tribune

Lisa Platz, convicted in March for the first-degree murder of her 9-year-old daughter, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday at El Dorado County Superior Court.

Platz faces life in state prison without the possibility of parole after a jury found her guilty of first-degree murder and a special allegation of kidnapping.

In September 2001 Platz was found inside a tent with her daughter Rebbeca. Platz’s boyfriend, James Csucsai, was also in the tent.



The two adults were wanted for kidnapping Rebbeca from her stepmother in Washington state. An FBI manhunt ensued and the three were found at Campground by the Lake.

Authorities stormed the tent to find Rebbeca dead from multiple knife wounds on her neck. Platz had cuts to her wrists. Csucsai had a slice on his throat.



El Dorado County District Attorney Gary Lacy, trying his first case in nine years, head-butted with Public Defender Rick Meyer. The defense contended a mentally ill Csucsai, who hanged himself in jail before the trial, slashed Platz’s left wrist and fatally cut Rebbeca’s throat.

Sentencing begins at 1:30 p.m. at El Dorado County Superior Court.


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