Man from the city of Daly sentenced to 15 years of life for killing the separate wife with a son in another room

A man from the city of Daly was sentenced last week 15 years old to life imprisonment for killing his wife separated with his 4 -year -old son in the other room in 2021.

Eriberto Beltrán-Arenas, 39, was sentenced at the end of last year for second degree murder for killing Lilliam Orozco-Zelaya, 26, his wife separated, in 2021 with his 4-year-old son and his roommate in the apartment.

His sentence was approved on March 6 by the Judge of the Superior Court of the County of San Mateo, Jonathan E. Karesh, after the impact statements of the family and fellow of Orozco-Zelaya room.

Karesh sentenced Beltrán-Arenas to 15 years to life imprisonment for the position of second degree murder and three additional consecutive years for threats of large bodily injuries, according to the Office of the District Prosecutor of the County of San Mateo. The judge also issued orders of ten years without contact for the fourth partner and the son.

Beltran-Arenas trial initially ended in a null trial in May 2024 After the jury could not agree whether to find him guilty of first degree murder, second degree murder or voluntary homicide. It was not declared in the second degree murder in December 2024, according to the prosecutor’s office.

“We are completely satisfied that justice was done in this case and that justice was obtained for the victim,” said San Mateo County District, Stephen Wagstaffe.

Wagstafffe added that his office not only looked at the damage caused to Orozco-Zelaya, but also to the damage caused to the child in prosecuting in the case.

“Although I wasn’t in the room, he knows what has happened. He listened to many of the words, and may not understand them more than, you know, they were angry, ”said Wagstafffe. “What we know for many years, decades, is that too often children will learn at the foot of the father.”

Wagstafffe said it was a motivating factor to seek order without contact for the child.

“This situation is a tragedy for all involved,” said Gaby Guraiib, defense lawyer of Beltran-Arenas. “While I respect the decision of the court, I am disappointed with the sentence, since I believe that significant mitigating factors justified a term lower than the aggravated sentence imposed. Let’s not forget that Mr. Beltrán declared himself guilty of second degree murder after a null trial, thus imposing a life sentence on himself. “

Guraiib said that prayer was “excessive and unfair” and added that “it was under a high degree of emotional anguish, which certainly influenced its actions.”

“Witness accounts describe it as emotionally deranged instead of calculating or purpose,” he added. “It is easy to demonize the actions of an individual without considering the broader context in which it occurred. Mr. Beltrán has been deeply regretted from the beginning. “

The gallery of the courtroom was full of family and friends, many of the tears of spill, as members of the family and the fourth of Orozco-Zelaya shared impact statements on March 6. The Prosecutor’s Office showed a photo board of Orozco-Zelaya at the front of the Court Chamber.

“From that day, my life shattered,” said a statement from the mother of Orozco-Zelaya, Lilliyam Zelaya-urbina, who was read in court by a victim’s defender. “She had many dreams and hopes. … I will never listen to my daughter to call me ‘Mami’ again. “

“Trauma and emotional damage inflicted to me and their three children is irreversible,” Zelaya-urbina’s statement continued. “He took our dreams, our peace.”

The fourth of Orozco-Zelaya, Maria “Karina” Vadogadea, speaking through a translator in the court, described the incident as “the most horrible night of (his) life”, and added that the son of Orozco-Zelaya saw his dead mother, which will mark him “for the rest of his life.”

“Justice has to prevail,” Vadogadea said. “No one has the right to take another person’s life … she will never return, and he needs to regret what he did.”

Beltrán-Arenas, with an orange prison monkey and with a short yellow pencil behind his ear, said he can only remember fragments of the night that killed Orozco-Zelaya.