DA's office to remain on Rubio's capital murder case

The Cameron County District Attorney's Office won the right to continue with the prosecution of accused child killer John Allen Rubio, despite a defense team's attempt to get the office disqualified.

State District Judge Arturo C. Nelson Wednesday denied a motion that requested the District Attorney's office be taken off the case, but not before current and former attorneys were forced to take the stand during a hearing to disqualify them.

Rubio, 29, is accused of murdering his three children in Brownsville on March 11, 2003. The children were smothered, stabbed and mutilated, according to investigators.

Testifying Wednesday was state prosecutors Charles E. Mattingly Jr., Rene Gonzalez and defense attorney Alfredo Padilla.

Up for debate is whether Padilla was privy to any information pertaining to how the District Attorney's office planned to prosecute Rubio in his second capital murder trial.

Padilla served as Rubio's defense attorney during his first capital murder trial back in November 2003 in which a jury found Rubio guilty of murdering his three children.  Four years later, the Texas Court of Criminals reversed his conviction thereby granting him a new trial.

When the conviction was reversed, Padilla was working as an assistant prosecutor for the District Attorney's office. At that time District Attorney Armando Villalobos said Padilla would not be involved in the retrial of the Rubio case.

Padilla testified he never talked to state prosecutors about the Rubio case while working for the District Attorney's office.

He said he was only congratulated by Mattingly and Gonzalez for doing well for his client.

Padilla wrote the appeal, which got Rubio's case reversed.