| For Immediate Release Case # 10NF1087
February 7, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MAN FACES TRIAL FOR COLD CASE HALLOWEEN STABBING-MURDER OF SISTER-IN-LAW’S BOYFRIEND AND BEING LINKED TO CRIME THROUGH DNA
SANTA ANA – A man faces trial tomorrow for the cold case stabbing-murder of his sister-in-law’s boyfriend on Halloween night after being linked to the crime through DNA. Hector Delio Aguilar Jaramillo, 42, Lake Elsinore, is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. Opening statements are expected to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, in Department C-44, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
On the night of Oct. 31, 2006, Jaramillo is accused of entering the home and bedroom of 35-year-old Roberto Martinez-Escamilla, who was the long-time boyfriend of Jaramillo’s wife’s sister. The victim lived in the master bedroom of an Anaheim home and several other non-familial people rented rooms in the house.
Jaramillo is accused of murdering the victim as he screamed for help and struggled to get away. The defendant is accused of stabbing Martinez-Escamilla multiple times and cutting the victim’s throat, almost decapitating him. The defendant is accused of then breaking a bathroom window and fleeing through the window.
Other tenants in the home heard the victim screaming for help and called 911. The Anaheim Police Department (APD) responded to the scene, collected evidence, and investigated this case. The case went cold.
Sometime after the murder, the defendant is accused of getting arrested in Riverside County for assault and his DNA was subsequently submitted to the state database. In March 2010, Jaramillo is accused of being linked to the murder through DNA found on a glove at the scene.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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