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| Fla. assistant defender quits in wake of jail romance |
| By Orlando Sentinel |
| Published: 09/29/2003 |
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An assistant public defender in Orlando, Victoria Holmberg, resigned last week, just days after reports surfaced of her romance with Michael Culbertson, who faces the death penalty in a murder trial set for next month. The Florida Bar has begun an investigation, seeking to determine whether the relationship violated attorney rules. "It's nobody's business if we're in love," Culbertson said Monday in a phone interview from jail. "All this stuff I'm facing, she chose to stand by me. No woman in my life could ever top that. This woman is everything in my life. She's my best friend." Prosecutors were concerned enough about the romance to put Holmberg under oath last month and ask her a series of questions about her discussions with Culbertson. They wanted to know whether she had told him anything that might jeopardize their case against him in the 2001 killing of Donna Gregory, a Daytona Beach day-care worker. Holmberg, 38, met Culbertson, 28, several months ago in the course of defending his mother against a charge that the mother tried to hire a hit man to kill a potential witness against Culbertson. Lynda Love pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced in May to 20 years in prison. Holmberg admitted hugging Culbertson during a visit, and she told Assistant State Attorney Ed Davis they kissed briefly. She acknowledged receiving hundreds of phone calls from Culbertson, both at work and on her personal cell phone. "We never even talked about my case," Culbertson insisted. "My case has nothing to do with us. And I'm not a murderer." It's too early to know whether Holmberg broke any rules, said Elizabeth Conan of The Florida Bar. The investigation will proceed despite the resignation, she said. "Just because she's resigned does not mean she's outside the scope of the rules. She remains an attorney." Culbertson said Holmberg told her bosses about the relationship from the beginning and was assured it was not a problem so long as they did not discuss his case. Ronald Zimmett, second in charge at the Public Defender's Office, dismissed the claim. |
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