Seabee denies guilt in attempts to place bombs on man's car
Camarillo resident was shot to death a month later
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Seth Hardy

Seth Hardy, 20, a Seabee at Ventura County Naval Base, pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder charges in two attempts to kill John Marmo, who was shot to death Dec. 1.

A Kansas native, Hardy is the fourth suspect connected to the Marmo case to plead not guilty. He is not charged in the early morning slaying that left Marmo dead in front of his Camarillo condominium.

At the time his death, Marmo, 27, was involved in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Rebecca Braswell, 26, over their 4-year-old daughter.

Hardy was arrested Dec. 5 on charges of attempted murder and the use of an explosive to injure or destroy in two earlier alleged attempts on Marmo's life. Hardy is being held at the Main Jail in lieu of $510,000 bail. He is due back in court April 5.

Reported admission

According to the arrest warrant filed by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department on Dec. 4, Hardy admitted that on two separate occasions he attached a Coleman Powermax propane canister to the exhaust pipe of Marmo's 1999 Hyundai Tibuorn in an attempt to blow up the car.

In the arrest warrant, police said Marmo discovered the first propane tank Oct. 14 when he took his car in to a Ventura mechanic after he heard a rattling and hissing sound coming from underneath his car.

Marmo filed a report with the Ventura Police Department and revealed to investigators that he was in the midst of a custody dispute with Braswell.

Marmo said Hardy visited him four days later at his job at a heavy equipment rental company.

During the visit, Marmo told investigators, Hardy asked about renting equipment. In the warrant, Marmo said he became suspicious when he saw Hardy manipulating a pocket knife in his pocket.

On Oct. 23, Marmo said Hardy returned to the rental yard to thank Marmo for helping him earlier. Marmo told investigators that he found this suspicious because he hadn't helped Hardy to the extent that a return visit was necessary.

Less than a week later, on Oct. 28, Marmo's friend saw a second propane canister attached to Marmo's exhaust pipe. The canister, 2 inches in diameter and 10 inches long, was attached with a bungee cord, a hose clamp and wires, the warrant said.

Marmo reported the canister to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and again told investigators about the custody fight with his ex-wife, and said "friends of Braswell were responsible for placing the device on the car."

The warrant said that when Marmo was killed about a month later, detectives questioned Hardy about his visits to the rental yard where Marmo worked. Hardy said he had visited Marmo but denied he placed the propane canisters on Marmo's car.

Detectives said an unnamed informant told them Hardy had had in fact bragged about putting the canisters on Marmo's car. The informant agreed to wear a wire and speak to Hardy in an attempt to record a confession on tape.

During the recorded conversation, Hardy did admit he had placed the canisters on Marmo's car. He was quickly arrested by officers with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at his barracks on the Port Hueneme Naval Base.

Hardy then admitted to sheriff's investigators that he had placed the propane containers on Marmo's car at the behest of a third party to blow the car up or injure Marmo, the warrant said.

Drawn-out custody battle

Braswell, nearly five months pregnant with their daughter, married Marmo while the two were serving in the Navy and stationed in Sicily in 2001. Soon after they returned to California in 2004, the couple filed for divorce.

Their custody dispute lasted two years and was rife with accusations of abuse and neglect on both sides, arguments over visitation rights and even allegations of death threats. On Oct. 31, a month before he was shot, Marmo was awarded joint custody of his daughter. He was killed 31 days later, on what would have been his fifth wedding anniversary.

In January, Braswell, Shannon Butler, 23, and Matthew Gerald Toerner, 20, pleaded not guilty to murder charges. All of the suspects serve as Seabees at the Ventura County Naval Base. Braswell and Butler are both being held at the Main Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and are expected back in court March 26. Toerner, also due to appear in court March 26, is being held without bail.