A fiery auto crash near Highway 9 in Saratoga claimed the life of Michele Achilli, the widow of murdered bar owner Mark Achilli, according to reports.
Achilli, 54, was found dead just outside a "badly burned Volkswagen Beetle," according to the San Jose Mercury News. The fire was found in the Saratoga hills, off of the roadway near a curve and down an embankment, the newspaper reported. Driver error and speed appear to be factors in the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Achilli was a courtroom fixture during the trial of Paul Garcia, who was sentenced to prison for orchestrating a hit on her husband, from whom she was separated but still maintained close personal ties.
Mark Achilli, 53, was shot and killed in March 2008, seven months after he sold the Mountain Charley's Saloon to Garcia, the newspaper reported. A jury found that Garcia orchestrated the hit.
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