'Curb' Footage Used to Free Suspected Murderer After 5 Months in Jail

After five months in jail, Juan Catalan is a free man, with an extra $320,000 in his pocket. From the Hollywood Reporter:

Catalan had been jailed as the primary suspect in the May 2003 killing of a 16-year-old girl. His alibi? He was attending a Dodger game with his 6-year-old daughter at the time of the murder. But because it couldn't immediately be proven, Catalan remained locked up.

Fortunately, Catalan's defense attorney, Todd Melnik, was a particularly industrious guy who went the extra mile. He pored through videotape of the televised ballgame hoping to spot his client, but found nothing. Then Catalan happened to remember that a camera crew was shooting something at the stadium on the night in question. However, he didn't know much more -- except for one thing.

"He remembered seeing Super Dave Osborne (actor Bob Einstein), who was doing a guest spot in that 'Curb,'" says Bob Weide, the series' exec producer who directed the Dodger Stadium episode titled "The Car Pool Lane" -- for which he earned Emmy and DGA Award noms. "So Catalan's attorney did some research and found out what show it was."

From there, Melnik received permission from HBO to view the raw footage from the episode in the "Curb" production offices. And there was Catalan with his daughter in the crowd. Better still, the footage was time-coded, confirming that he was indeed inside the stadium before the slaying occurred in Sun Valley.

Next season definitely needs a subplot where Larry inadvertently exonerates a jailed gang member. Confusion and uncomfortable hilarity ensue.


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