PLEASANT HILL — As 37-year-old Santiago Jacobo Sr. struggled to stay upright as he bled out on the curb next to his vehicle, he had one last thing to the man who’d stabbed him 22 times.
“You’re going to pay,” Jacobo called out to 31-year-old Pablo Gutierrez-Morales, who ran for a waiting vehicle, apparently holding onto the folly belief that his victim would live, according to court records.
A year-and-a-half after the February 2024 murder of Santiago, his final words to his killer came true. Gutierrez-Morales, a Concord resident, pleaded no contest to second degree murder and received a prison sentence of 16 years to life, court records show.
“I hope the people who did this get 942 years, because that’s how long I’ll be sad for,” Jacobo’s son, Santiago Jacobo Jr., said at his August sentencing hearing, the news site DanvilleSanRamon.com reported.
The story behind Santiago Jacobo Sr.’s murder was oft-referred to by news media and police and a “love triangle,” but court records describing the sage paint a more complex picture. It started with an affair between the married Jacobo, who lived in Pittsburg, and Vanessa Vera-Aguilar, his colleague at a senior care home called Watermark. It ended with Jacobo’s wife finding him dead in the gutter next to Pleasant Hill Park, at around 4:45 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2024. He’d suffered 22 stab wounds, including to his heart and liver.
Jacobo also worked as a custodian at the park, and stuck to a work routine that made him easy to find. After he and Vera-Aguilar, 24, ended their relationship, she found a new boyfriend, Gutierrez-Morales. But according to court filings by both prosecutors and defense attorneys, Jacobo wasn’t ready for their relationship to be over. He allegedly bombarded her with calls, texts, and video messages, almost all of which went unreturned.
Gutierrez-Morales was displeased and shared this with Vera-Aguilar. He discussed means of revenge — wanting to “beat up” Jacobo, cut the brake lines to his car, slash his tires, or kill him. She’d later tell police that she believed he was joking or letting off steam, according to court records.
Vera-Aguilar allegedly met with Jacobo at the park three days before the murder, supposedly to discuss a loan agreement. On the night of Feb. 9, she drove Gutierrez-Morales and a friend, Jazmin Ruiz, to the park. But first they obtained a knife, which Vera-Aguilar later told police she believed would be used to cut the tires on Jacobo’s car. They were careful to avoid security cameras when they pulled up to the park around 11 p.m., according to court filings.
A motion by Gutierrez-Morales’ lawyer says that Gutierrez-Morales expected to talk to Jacobo “man to man” and tell him to stop “harassing” Vera-Aguilar, but he left with a tire iron as well as the knife. When he found Jacobo, Gutierrez-Morales allegedly flung open the door to his car, only to be kicked two to three times by the custodian. In the shoving match that ensued, Gutierrez-Morales went for the knife in his pocket. He’d later say he couldn’t remember how many times he stabbed Jacobo.
Jacobo’s wife went looking for him early the next morning, and called police when she discovered his body. The three defendants were arrested in May 2024.
In court, Vera-Aguilar and Ruiz, both Antioch residents, fared much better than Gutierrez-Morales, who was transferred on Aug. 11 to North Kern State Prison. Vera-Aguilar was sentenced to a year in jail for accessory to murder. Ruiz was given a 12-day sentence and a year of after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge, court records show.
On the day of sentencing, Jacobo’s family members called for harsher penalties against the trio.
“They stalked Santiago – it was premeditated, and it was well-organized, like cat and mouse,” says a statement submitted by Jacobo’s brother, Alonso Jacobo, DanvilleSanRamon.com reported.
Hence then, the article about dying from stab wounds pleasant hill custodian told his murderer you re going to pay was published today ( ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Dying from stab wounds, Pleasant Hill custodian told his murderer, ‘You’re going to pay’ )
Also on site :
- PIN Stockholder Alert: Shareholder Rights Law Firm Robbins LLP Reminds Investors of the Class Action Lawsuit Against Pinterest, Inc.
- Sheena Easton, 66, Is Still a Stunning Redhead Several Years After Leaving the Chaos of Mega-Fame Behind
- ‘Murphy Brown’ Star Jessie Jones Dead at 75