A recent episode of “Dateline” has brought attention to a Modesto connection in the murder case of Palm Springs art dealer Cliff Lambert. The episode, titled “The Prince, the Whiz Kid and the Millionaire,” aired on October 10 and covers the events leading up to Lambert’s death and the subsequent legal proceedings.
Prosecutors allege that Kaushal Niroula and Daniel Garcia were primarily responsible for planning to steal from and kill Lambert. Garcia is originally from Modesto.
The episode introduces viewers to Lambert, who was known as a successful art dealer with an active social life in Palm Springs. According to his friend Eddie Mullikin, “He had all these pictures in his house with all these famous people, like icons.”
Lambert was reported missing after failing to attend a Christmas parade on December 6, 2008. Mullikin noticed signs of a party at Lambert’s home but did not find him there. After further days without contact, Mullikin filed a missing persons report.
Police initially found nothing suspicious at Lambert’s residence. About a week later, friends began receiving emails purportedly from Lambert stating he was in Maui recovering from surgery. Mullikin found this unusual since they typically spoke by phone rather than email.
Investigations revealed that Garcia and Niroula were behind the emails. Garcia met Lambert through an online dating site earlier that year while living in San Francisco.
Suspicion increased when a real estate agent contacted police about someone attempting to sell Lambert’s house under questionable circumstances. The client turned out to be Niroula, who claimed ownership of the property.
Shortly after, police discovered Miguel Bustamante moving items out of Lambert’s home using a U-Haul truck. Bustamante told authorities he had been hired by Niroula in exchange for access to luxury items including Lambert’s Rolls-Royce. He also said Garcia had lured Lambert out of town where he was kidnapped.
Further investigation uncovered that Garcia and Niroula orchestrated the scheme together.
Tech entrepreneur Tyson Wrensch recounted his own experience with Garcia during an interview with The Bee in 2016. Wrensch described how their friendship ended after discovering financial thefts committed by Garcia while Wrensch was away traveling. Unable to get restitution through legal means, Wrensch researched Garcia further and found connections between him and news reports about Lambert’s disappearance.
Wrensch co-authored a book titled “Until Someone Gets Hurt” detailing his experiences with Garcia and information about the murder case alongside Sherrie Lueder.
The Dateline episode explains how suspicions arose when Lambert realized unauthorized charges were being made on his credit cards by Garcia. In November 2008, Niroula posed as an attorney offering valuable artwork left to Lambert in a will; this ruse led to meeting at Lambert’s home where he was killed on December 5 by individuals brought into the house by Niroula.
Lambert’s remains were eventually identified in 2020 after being buried north of Los Angeles several years prior.
Four main conspirators—Niroula, Garcia, Bustamante, and lawyer David Replogle—were tried for their roles in the crime. Both Niroula and Garcia represented themselves during trial proceedings; all four were convicted between 2011-2012 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole eligibility.
Craig McCarthy confessed involvement as part of cooperation with law enforcement; he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a sentence of 25 years.
During trial preparations, it emerged that Garcia used his laptop—provided for legal work—to record private conversations among court officials without authorization. These recordings included remarks suggesting judicial bias against defendants; as result all convictions were overturned pending new trials due to concerns over fairness in proceedings.
Delays caused by appeals processes as well as COVID-19 slowed retrials significantly until September 2022 when Niroula died following an altercation at Riverside County Jail while awaiting retrial.
Replogle was reconvicted later that year; both Bustamante and Garcia were found guilty again in 2023.
Currently only Bustamante has been sentenced (life without parole). Sentencing for others remains delayed due largely to ongoing legal disputes initiated by defense counsel or filings submitted directly by defendants such as Garcia whose next hearing is scheduled for November 13.
The full story is available for streaming via Peacock.
