Topline: Sixteen years after Clifford Lambert was murdered in a scheme fueled by greed and deception, the final defendant has been sentenced to life without parole.
Published: July 22, 2025 8:30 am ET
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David Replogle appears in court. (via Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
RIVERSIDE, CA — More than 16 years after Palm Springs art dealer Clifford Lambert was lured to his death in a bizarre and brutal scheme, the final defendant in the case—a former San Francisco attorney—was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On July 18, 2025, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos handed down the sentence to 76-year-old David Replogle, concluding one of California’s most convoluted and emotionally fraught murder cases.
Replogle was convicted in 2022 of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, burglary, grand theft, identity theft, and forgery, with the jury also affirming a special-circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain, according to a press release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The conviction came after a second trial. His original 2010 conviction had been overturned due to judicial misconduct, including secretly recorded courtroom remarks suggesting bias based on the defendants’ sexual orientation and HIV status. Replogle spent the intervening years filing motion after motion to delay his sentencing—a series of continuances that sparked frustration among prosecutors and friends of the victim, some of whom had waited more than a decade to see justice finalized.
According to NBC News reporting, the long arc of the case traces back to December 5, 2008, when Lambert, a 74-year-old retired art dealer and Palm Springs socialite, was stabbed to death in his home. Lambert had been lured under the pretense of collecting artwork from a deceased collector, only to be ambushed, killed, rolled into a rug, and buried in a shallow grave off a mountain road near Los Angeles. A jawbone discovered later would confirm his fate.
The murder was the result of an audacious scheme orchestrated by Kaushal Niroula and Daniel Garcia, who prosecutors said plotted to steal Lambert’s identity, liquidate his assets, and eliminate him. Niroula, who posed as a Nepalese prince and moved through social circles with flair and deception, recruited accomplices with theatrical ease. Replogle, at the time a licensed attorney, provided forged legal documents that enabled the group to drain Lambert’s accounts of over $185,000 and attempt to sell his home and art collection. Replogle, prosecutors said, was the one who gave the conspiracy legal cover, using his bar credentials to create fraudulent powers of attorney and estate documents.
All six members of the group were eventually charged. Two pleaded guilty early on—one to voluntary manslaughter, the other to fraud—and served reduced sentences. The four remaining men, including Replogle, were convicted in trials held between 2010 and 2012. But in 2020, a bombshell revelation changed the course of the case: secretly recorded audio surfaced in which Judge David Downing made derogatory remarks about the defendants, casting doubt on the fairness of the original proceedings.
Among other comments, Downing said he denied motions from one of the defendants without reading them because the man was HIV-positive. The judge’s remarks, recorded on a courtroom laptop by a defendant, led the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office to consent to new trials “to prevent even an appearance of impropriety.”
One of the friends who testified at both trials, Eddie Mullikin, told NBC News the delays were excruciating and filled with what he believed was a double standard. “I think this would have been different if this was a straight person with a straight family,” he said. Another friend, Steven Kilcullen, said, “We need to see these terrible people receive their punishment. We need to see them pay for what they did to Cliff.”
Replogle’s sentence marks the close of the legal proceedings against him, but not the end of a saga that has stretched across years, trials, appeals, and lives torn apart. While others still await sentencing—including Garcia, described by prosecutors as the “idea man” behind the killing—Replogle will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
As Mullikin put it in court, “That doesn’t excuse you from this. You still murdered my friend.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Former Attorney Sentenced to Life for 2008 Murder of Palm Springs Art Dealer
Sixteen years after Clifford Lambert was murdered in a scheme fueled by greed and deception, the final defendant has been sentenced to life without parole.
By Jacob Charles
Published: July 22, 2025 8:30 am ET
David Replogle appears in court. (via Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
RIVERSIDE, CA — More than 16 years after Palm Springs art dealer Clifford Lambert was lured to his death in a bizarre and brutal scheme, the final defendant in the case—a former San Francisco attorney—was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On July 18, 2025, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos handed down the sentence to 76-year-old David Replogle, concluding one of California’s most convoluted and emotionally fraught murder cases.
Replogle was convicted in 2022 of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, burglary, grand theft, identity theft, and forgery, with the jury also affirming a special-circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain, according to a press release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The conviction came after a second trial. His original 2010 conviction had been overturned due to judicial misconduct, including secretly recorded courtroom remarks suggesting bias based on the defendants’ sexual orientation and HIV status. Replogle spent the intervening years filing motion after motion to delay his sentencing—a series of continuances that sparked frustration among prosecutors and friends of the victim, some of whom had waited more than a decade to see justice finalized.
According to NBC News reporting, the long arc of the case traces back to December 5, 2008, when Lambert, a 74-year-old retired art dealer and Palm Springs socialite, was stabbed to death in his home. Lambert had been lured under the pretense of collecting artwork from a deceased collector, only to be ambushed, killed, rolled into a rug, and buried in a shallow grave off a mountain road near Los Angeles. A jawbone discovered later would confirm his fate.
The murder was the result of an audacious scheme orchestrated by Kaushal Niroula and Daniel Garcia, who prosecutors said plotted to steal Lambert’s identity, liquidate his assets, and eliminate him. Niroula, who posed as a Nepalese prince and moved through social circles with flair and deception, recruited accomplices with theatrical ease. Replogle, at the time a licensed attorney, provided forged legal documents that enabled the group to drain Lambert’s accounts of over $185,000 and attempt to sell his home and art collection. Replogle, prosecutors said, was the one who gave the conspiracy legal cover, using his bar credentials to create fraudulent powers of attorney and estate documents.
All six members of the group were eventually charged. Two pleaded guilty early on—one to voluntary manslaughter, the other to fraud—and served reduced sentences. The four remaining men, including Replogle, were convicted in trials held between 2010 and 2012. But in 2020, a bombshell revelation changed the course of the case: secretly recorded audio surfaced in which Judge David Downing made derogatory remarks about the defendants, casting doubt on the fairness of the original proceedings.
Among other comments, Downing said he denied motions from one of the defendants without reading them because the man was HIV-positive. The judge’s remarks, recorded on a courtroom laptop by a defendant, led the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office to consent to new trials “to prevent even an appearance of impropriety.”
One of the friends who testified at both trials, Eddie Mullikin, told NBC News the delays were excruciating and filled with what he believed was a double standard. “I think this would have been different if this was a straight person with a straight family,” he said. Another friend, Steven Kilcullen, said, “We need to see these terrible people receive their punishment. We need to see them pay for what they did to Cliff.”
Replogle’s sentence marks the close of the legal proceedings against him, but not the end of a saga that has stretched across years, trials, appeals, and lives torn apart. While others still await sentencing—including Garcia, described by prosecutors as the “idea man” behind the killing—Replogle will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
As Mullikin put it in court, “That doesn’t excuse you from this. You still murdered my friend.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
Must Read
Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Former Attorney Sentenced to Life for 2008 Murder of Palm Springs Art Dealer
Sixteen years after Clifford Lambert was murdered in a scheme fueled by greed and deception, the final defendant has been sentenced to life without parole.
By Jacob Charles
Published: July 22, 2025 8:30 am ET
David Replogle appears in court. (via Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
RIVERSIDE, CA — More than 16 years after Palm Springs art dealer Clifford Lambert was lured to his death in a bizarre and brutal scheme, the final defendant in the case—a former San Francisco attorney—was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On July 18, 2025, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos handed down the sentence to 76-year-old David Replogle, concluding one of California’s most convoluted and emotionally fraught murder cases.
Replogle was convicted in 2022 of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, burglary, grand theft, identity theft, and forgery, with the jury also affirming a special-circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain, according to a press release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The conviction came after a second trial. His original 2010 conviction had been overturned due to judicial misconduct, including secretly recorded courtroom remarks suggesting bias based on the defendants’ sexual orientation and HIV status. Replogle spent the intervening years filing motion after motion to delay his sentencing—a series of continuances that sparked frustration among prosecutors and friends of the victim, some of whom had waited more than a decade to see justice finalized.
According to NBC News reporting, the long arc of the case traces back to December 5, 2008, when Lambert, a 74-year-old retired art dealer and Palm Springs socialite, was stabbed to death in his home. Lambert had been lured under the pretense of collecting artwork from a deceased collector, only to be ambushed, killed, rolled into a rug, and buried in a shallow grave off a mountain road near Los Angeles. A jawbone discovered later would confirm his fate.
The murder was the result of an audacious scheme orchestrated by Kaushal Niroula and Daniel Garcia, who prosecutors said plotted to steal Lambert’s identity, liquidate his assets, and eliminate him. Niroula, who posed as a Nepalese prince and moved through social circles with flair and deception, recruited accomplices with theatrical ease. Replogle, at the time a licensed attorney, provided forged legal documents that enabled the group to drain Lambert’s accounts of over $185,000 and attempt to sell his home and art collection. Replogle, prosecutors said, was the one who gave the conspiracy legal cover, using his bar credentials to create fraudulent powers of attorney and estate documents.
All six members of the group were eventually charged. Two pleaded guilty early on—one to voluntary manslaughter, the other to fraud—and served reduced sentences. The four remaining men, including Replogle, were convicted in trials held between 2010 and 2012. But in 2020, a bombshell revelation changed the course of the case: secretly recorded audio surfaced in which Judge David Downing made derogatory remarks about the defendants, casting doubt on the fairness of the original proceedings.
Among other comments, Downing said he denied motions from one of the defendants without reading them because the man was HIV-positive. The judge’s remarks, recorded on a courtroom laptop by a defendant, led the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office to consent to new trials “to prevent even an appearance of impropriety.”
One of the friends who testified at both trials, Eddie Mullikin, told NBC News the delays were excruciating and filled with what he believed was a double standard. “I think this would have been different if this was a straight person with a straight family,” he said. Another friend, Steven Kilcullen, said, “We need to see these terrible people receive their punishment. We need to see them pay for what they did to Cliff.”
Replogle’s sentence marks the close of the legal proceedings against him, but not the end of a saga that has stretched across years, trials, appeals, and lives torn apart. While others still await sentencing—including Garcia, described by prosecutors as the “idea man” behind the killing—Replogle will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
As Mullikin put it in court, “That doesn’t excuse you from this. You still murdered my friend.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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