Build a case timeline without confusing charges, sentence and custody

Use one row per event

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Record the announcement date, event date, authority, case reference and what changed. Keep charges, pleas, verdicts and sentences as separate entries. A sentence announcement may describe a future reporting obligation rather than immediate imprisonment. The PGI records provide a concrete example of why that distinction matters.

Check later official updates

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Look for the authority's case page as well as its original press release. Preserve an older record rather than rewriting it to look newly published. If a later source reports a warrant or revised hearing, add the event and limit the statement to what it establishes. Do not infer present whereabouts or the outcome of an appeal from an old headline.

Keep victim instructions on their own timeline

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Record submission deadlines and the date on which you checked them. A still-accessible form may carry an expired deadline. Use the current official instructions before sending documents, and do not assume an extension exists. This timeline method is a record-keeping aid; it does not replace legal advice or establish eligibility for compensation.

Maintain a three-track case log

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Create separate timelines for court events, official location or custody notices, and victim instructions. For each entry save the date of the event, date of the source, exact document and what changed. Keep future hearings in a scheduled state until an outcome document appears. If a page still shows an old deadline, do not infer an extension from the fact that its form loads. This log is useful for following PGI and similar cases without replacing a dated fact with an unsupported present-tense claim.

Sources, dates and limits

This account combines the February 2026 sentencing announcement with the FBI's April 2026 update. It does not state that Palafox is currently serving the sentence or establish his present whereabouts. The April 13, 2026 victim-submission deadline in the FBI page is historical.