How the George Pino trial unfolded: From the fatal boat crash to a not guilty verdict
Miami real estate developer George Pino stood trial in a case stemming from a 2022 boat crash in Biscayne Bay that killed one of his daughter's teen friends and left another passenger with life-altering injuries.
Pino faced manslaughter and vessel homicide charges in connection with the crash near Boca Chita Key.
CBS News Miami streamed the full trial live.
Jury finds Pino "not guilty" of manslaughter or vessel homicide
On Monday, June 22, a jury has found Miami real estate developer George Pino "not guilty" of manslaughter and vessel homicide charges stemming from a September 2022 boat crash near Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay that resulted in the death of one teenager and left another permanently disabled.
The not guilty verdict follows days of emotional and sometimes tense testimony in one of Miami-Dade's most closely watched criminal cases in recent years.
Day 8: Defense rests its case with final testimony from the defense and rebuttal from the state
A defense expert testified Wednesday, June 17, that George Pino suffered a traumatic brain injury in the 2022 Biscayne Bay boat crash and may have experienced amnesia afterward, as the defense neared the end of its case on Day 8 of the trial.
Neurologist Dr. Diana Barratt, who was retained by Pino's defense team last October as a consultant and expert witness, told jurors she was asked to determine whether Pino suffered a traumatic brain injury or concussion that could have caused memory loss following the crash. Barratt testified that she reviewed Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission videos with Pino and concluded that he displayed signs consistent with amnesia.
According to Barratt's testimony, Pino was unable to recall details shown in the videos, including information related to victim Lucy Fernandez, who was killed in the crash. When asked by defense attorneys whether she would diagnose Pino based on the information she reviewed, Barratt said she would.
Pino's attorneys have previously argued that he suffered amnesia as a result of injuries sustained in the crash, and have sought to limit the use of statements he made during interviews with FWC investigators.
Following the defense's decision to rest its case late Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors immediately called rebuttal witnesses, including the fathers of Lucy Fernandez and Katy Puig.
Rudy Puig, father of Katy Puig, testified regarding his daughter's condition following the crash. Her father told the court that she is now confined to a wheelchair and requires around-the-clock medical care.
Andres Fernandez, Lucy Fernandez's father, also returned to the stand. He testified that while the two families had been close for years, their relationship had grown more distant over time, even though the girls remained friends despite attending different schools.
Before resting the defense's case, the judge asked Pino if he intended to testify in his own defense. Pino declined.
Day 7: Defense presents its case with emotional testimony from Pino's wife and survivors of the crash
After the prosecution rested the day before, the defense laid its case with emotional testimony from Pino's wife and two of Lucy Fernandez's friends who were on the boat during the collision.
Two of Fernandez's friends, Claudia Porto Carrero and Natalia Reid, took the stand to recount the moments leading up to and immediately following the impact. Both testified that while the teenagers were celebrating, dancing, and singing, they did not see Pino consuming alcohol that day.
Porto Carrero, a relative of Pino, described the chaotic aftermath of the collision to the courtroom, stating that when she opened her eyes, she saw Pino covered in blood.
"The first thing I saw after I opened my eyes was George. And I thought he was dead," Porto Carrero said. "I saw a lot of blood gushing."
Cecilia Pino, the defendant's wife and the only other adult aboard the boat, provided emotional testimony about her attempts to save the teenagers despite sustaining a gash to her own forehead.
"I wasn't thinking of Mr. Pino," she said when asked about the immediate aftermath. "I was just thinking of the girls."
During an aggressive cross-examination, prosecutors pressed Cecilia Pino on inconsistencies in her previous statements and accused her of trying to shield her husband from liability during the investigation.
The defense also called a maritime navigation expert to the stand Wednesday. The expert testified that tidal conditions on the day of the 2022 crash differed significantly from the conditions present during the state's subsequent re-enactment of the incident.
Day 6: Boating expert uses scale models, details force of fatal boat crash
The second week of testimony in the trial of Miami real estate developer George Pino began Monday, June 15, with arguments over the scope of expert testimony before jurors entered the courtroom. Pino's defense team objected to a boating expert discussing navigation rules, arguing jurors could incorrectly equate violations of those rules with the criminal negligence prosecutors must prove to secure a conviction.
The judge acknowledged the concern but allowed the testimony, while cautioning jurors about the distinction. Jurors then heard from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Lt. Paul Albert, a marine crash investigation instructor who examined Pino's boat after the Sept. 4, 2022 crash near Boca Chita Key.
Albert used scale models of the vessel and the channel marker it struck to explain how the collision unfolded. Albert testified that the force of the impact caused the boat to twist and tear a large hole into its starboard side. Using diagrams and models, he showed jurors where passengers were seated and explained why Fernandez and Puig sustained the most severe injuries. Albert said those seated closest to the point of impact would have absorbed the greatest force during the collision.
The lieutenant also told jurors he was asked by Florida Fish and Wildlife investigators to download GPS data from the vessel as part of the crash investigation.
Day 5: First week of trial wrapped up with tense moments between Pino and the prosecutor
The first week of the trial ended Friday, June 12, with sharp words between the lead prosecutor on the case and George Pino himself.
Moments after jurors were dismissed for the weekend, lead prosecutor Laura Adams confronted Pino in the courtroom. Adams accused the defendant of muttering, "it happens, it happens," warning that his comments could be overheard by the jury. Pino denied the accusation.
The exchange capped a heavy day of testimony focused on how state investigators reconstructed the final moments before Pino's 29-foot vessel slammed into a channel marker.
Lieutenant Thompson, a lead investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), testified that authorities utilized speed metrics, GPS trackpoints, and a passenger seating chart to recreate the crash sequence. According to prosecutors, the digital simulation allowed investigators to replicate the exact vantage point of Fernandez, who had been filming from the boat prior to the impact.
Jurors were also shown footage from Thompson's body-worn camera, a piece of evidence the defense had fought to block prior to trial.
In the video recorded at the Elliot Key Marina shortly after the collision, Pino can be seen telling the investigator that his attention was split immediately before the accident.
"I turn back to look and there's two girls sitting in the backseat of the boat," Pino said in the footage. "I was looking at the girls to make sure they were okay in the back. I hit the wave. I tried to sway. And the... left side of the boat hit the pylon."
The defense maintains the crash was a tragic accident caused by a rogue wake rather than criminal recklessness.
Day 4: Jurors see damaged boat; FWC official describes investigation
Jurors began the morning of the fourth day of the trial outside of the actual courtroom. They took a trip to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) yard in North Miami to inspect the heavily damaged 29-foot Robalo boat firsthand, observing a massive fracture in the middle of the vessel.
Back in the Miami-Dade courtroom, Manuel Pomares, an FWC lieutenant, took the stand, testifying on the actual investigation of the crash. He also showed a piece of the boat to the jury, testifying what kind of damage it sustained after it hit the channel marker.
Pomares said that because the boat capsized and sat upside down in six feet of water off of Boca Chita Key, most of the investigation had to be conducted underwater alongside Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office divers.
Investigators recovered multiple items from the ocean floor, including eight cellphones, sunglasses, Yeti-style tumblers, and several alcohol cans. All of those items were presented to the jury as evidence.
Pomares also brought in one of the only pieces of the channel marker that they were able to retrieve that day on the scene, as the rest floated away in the water.
Day 3: Officer describes crash response; bodycam footage shown
A Miami-Dade marine patrol officer who was among the first responders to the 2022 Labor Day weekend boat crash testified Wednesday that his primary focus was providing emergency aid to injured teenage passengers as jurors continued hearing evidence in the trial of Miami developer George Pino.
The jury watched body camera footage from the retired officer, showing the chaotic aftermath of the Sept. 4, 2022 crash near Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay.
The video captured several teenage girls who had been aboard Pino's boat during a weekend celebration for his daughter's 18th birthday, as well as two Good Samaritans who stopped to help after the collision. On one vessel, the girls could be seen awaiting assistance, while Pino appeared on a second boat wearing swim shorts.
The officer testified that when he arrived at the scene, two of the girls were lying on the back of one of the Good Samaritan boats. He told jurors his immediate priority was making sure the injured teens received medical attention while additional rescue crews were en route.
The officer also testified that first responders performed life-saving measures on Lucy Fernandez for what felt like 30 minutes. Fernandez's family grew visibly emotional in the courtroom as the video of the rescue attempt was played.
In the courtroom, Fernandez's father squeezed her mother's arm as they watched the footage. At one point, Fernandez's mother and younger brother left the courtroom distraught.
Day 2: Emotional testimony from victim's father, boat crash survivors
Jurors in the second day of Miami developer George Pino's trial heard emotional testimony from the father of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez, who was killed in a 2022 boat crash near Boca Chita Key. Andres Fernandez described the final moments he spent with his daughter on Sept. 4, 2022, before she boarded Pino's boat for an 18th birthday celebration. He also recounted the frantic search for Lucy after the crash and the heartbreaking moment he and his wife identified her at the hospital.
Prosecutors also called two of Pino's daughter's friends, Camila Alvarez and Carolina Monterrey, who were aboard the boat when it struck a channel marker while returning from a day on the water. The women testified that passengers were drinking alcohol throughout the day and described a "one-for-one" drinking system among the teens. Alvarez testified she consumed about 10 drinks and said everyone on the boat had been drinking before the collision.
The survivors detailed the chaotic moments after the crash, describing how passengers were thrown into the water when the boat capsized. They testified that Lucy Fernandez, Katy Puig and Mia Rodriguez were seated together on one side of the vessel and suffered the most serious injuries. Despite acknowledging alcohol consumption and that no one was wearing life jackets, both witnesses said they did not believe Pino appeared unable to operate the boat before the crash.
Day 1: Prosecution challenges George Pino's account
Prosecutors spent much of their opening statement on June 8 focused upon the moments leading up to the 2022 boat crash that killed a teenage girl, arguing that George Pino's initial account to investigators did not match the evidence collected during the investigation.
According to prosecutors, Pino told Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel that another vessel created a large wake, causing him to turn and check on the girls aboard before colliding with a channel marker. The state disputed that version of events and pointed to evidence recovered from the boat, including dozens of alcohol bottles, as it laid out its case to jurors.
The proceedings were interrupted several times as Pino became visibly emotional during opening statements. The court was briefly recessed, and the judge ordered a medical evaluation after Pino appeared distressed and began breathing heavily. Paramedics later evaluated him inside the courtroom.
Full opening statements were suspended and are expected to continue on Tuesday.
George Pino trial: Jury selection and opening statements
After a week of jury selection and hundreds of potential jurors that were summoned, six jurors were selected for Pino's trial, which began Monday afternoon.
Opening statements were originally scheduled to begin on Monday morning, but the judge pushed that back to Monday afternoon.
On the last day of jury selection on June 5, defense attorneys had asked the judge to bring in a last-minute witness, a toxicologist. That's when the state asked the judge to delay the start of the trial by one week.
The judge then expressed her frustration by requests from attorneys on both sides.
"Let me tell you all," the judge said. "We are not delaying this trial."
Jury selection began on June 1 and ended on June 5, with both the defense and prosecution selecting a jury consisting of five men and one woman, as well as four alternates.
George Pino and the day of the fatal crash
On Sept. 4, 2022, George and Cecilia Pino hosted a birthday celebration for their daughter aboard their boat. The group included several teenage girls who were lifelong friends and classmates at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, including Lucy Fernandez.
According to investigators, George Pino was operating the family's 29-foot boat as it returned to the dock when it struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said Pino told investigators that another vessel had passed by and created a large wake. He allegedly said he turned to check on the girls after the wake and, in doing so, collided with the marker.
The impact threw everyone on board into the water and ripped a large hole in the side of the vessel. Eleven of the 14 passengers were injured, and six were transported to a hospital. Seventeen-year-old Lucy Fernandez later died from her injuries.
Another passenger, Katy Puig, now 21, suffered a traumatic brain injury and was left with a lifetime of disabilities.
Pino was not given a sobriety test after the crash. According to the Miami Herald, he told investigators he had consumed "two beers" and did not appear impaired at the scene. The newspaper also reported that when the boat was recovered the following day, investigators found 61 empty alcohol bottles on board, including an empty champagne bottle.