Suspect in hit-and-run death appears in court, attorney says new plea deal may be on the table
Cean Whitmarsh, the father of Sidney Whitmarsh, is also currently considering a plea deal in his case, attorney says
Hit-and-run fatality suspect Sidney Whitmarsh appeared in district court Wednesday before Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez at the Eagle County Justice Center.
Since her arrest in Arkansas in March, Sidney Whitmarsh has made numerous appearances in county court, but Wednesday’s hearing was her first appearance in district court on felony charges that include vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, tampering with deceased human body and conspiracy to commit tampering with a deceased human body.
Sidney Whitmarsh’s attorney, Coleen O’Leary, told Olguin-Fresquez on Wednesday that she believes a new plea offer may be on the table for Whitmarsh, the details of which are still being worked out. In September, O’Leary said Sidney Whitmarsh had been offered a plea deal of 30 years in the Department of Corrections, which she rejected.
Olguin-Fresquez set another court date of Dec. 18 for the parties to confer once again.
Sidney Whitmarsh is accused of hitting and killing bicyclist Mario Vildozola Romero during the early morning hours of Jan. 7, then participating in a plot to hide his body and flee the state. Her father, Arkansas resident Cean Whitmarsh, is suspected of conspiring to help Whitmarsh flee the state and also appeared before Olguin-Fresquez on Wednesday.
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Cean Whitmarsh is currently considering a plea deal in his case, his attorney said on Wednesday. Olguin-Fresquez set a plea hearing for Dec. 18.
“If there’s not a plea agreement, we’ll go ahead and take the not guilty on that date, but it sounds like we’re getting close,” Olguin-Fresquez said.
Cean Whitmarsh has been charged with being an accessory to a crime, conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit concealing death.
After Romero was found dead on Jan. 9, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release saying a white Subaru was suspected in the case. A white Subaru belonging to Sidney Whitmarsh was impounded and evidence on the vehicle suggested it was involved in an accident, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit said text messages obtained from Sidney Whitmarsh’s phone suggest that her mother, Stephanie Whitmarsh, drove her daughter to a Costco in Wichita, Kansas, where her father picked her up. The text messages suggest Cean Whitmarsh was made aware of the alleged crime, according to the affidavit.
Authorities then arrested Sidney Whitmarsh in Clarendon, Arkansas, in March. She was transported to Eagle County in May and has remained in Eagle County jail since that time.
Cean Whitmarsh will be allowed to appear remotely until his sentencing hearing, Olguin-Fresquez said.
