A man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and her unborn child in El Monte in 2018 — believing she had engaged in an affair with his father that led to her pregnancy — was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Octavio Curiel Martinez, 43, was convicted last October of first-degree murder for the Aug. 29, 2018, shooting of his wife, Ana Maria Nunez, who was six months pregnant at the time, and her fetus.
Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with allegations that he used and discharged a handgun.
The seven-man, five-woman panel also convicted Curiel Martinez of one count each of attempted murder of his father, shooting at an occupied dwelling and assault by means likely to produce injury, along with two counts each of corporal injury to a spouse and assault with a firearm involving his father and mother and three misdemeanor counts of child endangerment involving the couple’s two children and his stepson.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Gomez said outside court after the verdict that no other family members agreed with the defendant’s belief about the suspected affair, saying his father denied it while testifying and that his wife had previously denied it.
Gomez and fellow prosecutor Meghan Tallent wrote in their sentencing memorandum that the evidence supports the conclusion that Curiel Martinez waited while the woman was alone and shot her in the back while in the kitchen, adding that there is no evidence to suggest she saw it coming.
In their court filing, Deputy Public Defenders Harvey Sherman and Jennifer Johnson had asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victor Martinez to reduce the murder convictions from first-degree to second-degree, which could have resulted in a 15-year-to-life state prison sentence.
“Mr. Curiel Martinez had a very severe addiction to methamphetamine dating back six years prior to the events,” the defense attorneys wrote.
The couple’s daughter, Alana, said through a Spanish interpreter that she wanted to “express my love and support for him,” maintaining that her father is “not a bad person.”
The judge also heard from two of the victim’s sons from a prior relationship.
“I just want the right thing to happen and I just want … justice to be served,” her son, Peter Orozco, told the judge.
Erick Orozco, meanwhile, said his mother’s loss is a “pain that we feel every day.”
The victim’s brother, Francisco Nunez, said, “This pain is going to be for the rest of my life.”
During the prosecution’s closing argument, Tallent told jurors that Curiel Martinez “very effectively shot and killed” his wife with two shots to the back, and that he also intended to kill her unborn child by leaving his wife for dead.
The prosecutor said the defendant believed the unborn child was the result of the alleged affair he suspected between his wife and his father. Tallent said there were no signs of a fight or struggle with his wife.
“Ana doesn’t know what is about to happen to her, but the defendant does,” Tallent said, telling jurors that after the shootings, Curiel Martinez went to his parents’ home nearby and shot at his father, who was standing near his own wife. Neither of the two were injured.
The prosecutor said Curiel Martinez was also involved in attacks on his wife in December 2016 and December 2017, including one in which she was left unconscious while three children were in the home, along with shooting at his father’s vehicle as he drove away some time in the month leading up to his wife’s killing.
Curiel Martinez was subsequently extradited from Mexico, where he had fled after killing his wife, the prosecutor said.
Sherman had asked jurors to acquit his client of both counts of first-degree murder.
“Did he really have a plan as laid out by the prosecution?” the defense lawyer asked jurors.
Sherman argued that Curiel Martinez “did not act willfully, deliberately and with premeditation,” saying jurors could instead potentially return a verdict of second-degree murder.
“I think the argument is that it wasn’t premeditated,” the defense lawyer said.
Sherman reminded jurors that they had heard testimony that his client had been using methamphetamine for about six years, saying that he was becoming more erratic over time.
He told the panel that what had happened was “horrific,” and said the defense wasn’t justifying any of the actions.
Curiel Martinez was taken into custody in March 2019 by Mexican police in Bolanos, Jalisco, Mexico, and was subsequently returned to Los Angeles County to stand trial. He has remained behind bars since then.