10/15/2026
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HBO was filming a Larry David comedy at Dodger Stadium that night. In the corner of one shot, a man and his 6-year-old daughter were walking back to their seats with snacks.
That shot saved his life.
In August 2003, Juan Catalan was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with the murder of Martha Puebla. If he had been convicted, he could have faced the death penalty.
He had an alibi. On the night of May 12, 2003, he had taken his daughter, Melissa, to Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers play the Braves. The killing happened about 20 miles away that same night.
He just couldn't prove it. His lawyer, Todd Melnik, subpoenaed the TV broadcast and the stadium's own camera footage. Some tapes showed the section where Catalan sat, but Melnik couldn't make him out.
Then Melnik learned that HBO had been filming "Curb Your Enthusiasm" at the stadium that night. With Larry David's help, he got permission to go through the raw footage.
"There he is!" Melnik remembered shouting.
The footage was time-coded. Together with phone records that put Catalan near the stadium about half an hour before the murder, it was enough. In January 2004, a judge dismissed the case.
Catalan had spent five and a half months in jail. His lawyer said he missed his daughter's first day of school, her birthday and Christmas.
He later received a $320,000 settlement from the city of Los Angeles. He had never watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm" before any of this. He's a fan now.