A California man pleaded not guilty today to charges of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl in 1991 and holding her captive for 18 years, clearing the way for the case to go to trial this summer.
Phillip Garrido's plea of not guilty came as a surprise to reporters and court watchers after a lawyer for his wife and co-defendant, Nancy Garrido, had said the 59-year-old defendant would plead guilty under an agreement with prosecutors.
Attorney Steve Tapson, who represents Nancy Garrido (55) said after the court hearing that a "legal problem" had arisen to sink the potential plea deal.
The Garridos are charged with snatching Jaycee Dugard, then 11, from a street near her South Lake Tahoe home on June 10, 1991 as she walked to catch a school bus. They allegedly held her captive in a squalid compound behind their home near Antioch for nearly two decades.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson declined to comment on plea negotiations with either defendant, who appeared in court wearing orange jail garb.
"We will do everything within our power to make sure the case is over and done with as quickly as possible, hopefully by the end of summer," Mr Pierson told reporters.
"My responsibility is to see that these two are held accountable for the enormity of their actions." Authorities say Phillip Garrido fathered two girls with Ms Dugard when she was a teen and kept them concealed until the convicted rapist aroused the suspicion of police while proselytising at a college campus.
Ms Dugard's rescue in August of 2009, at the age of 29, made international headlines.
Reuters