“You butchered her. You carved ‘bitch’ on her back. It showed you knew exactly what you were doing.”
That’s what San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Link said Nov. 16 to Armando Gabriel Perez before sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his 19-year-old wife, Diana Gonzalez, of National City in 2010.
“This is right up there with some of the worst. You’re evil. You are,” said Link.
Perez, now 44 and formerly of National City, was convicted by a jury Sept. 15 of first-degree murder and with the special circumstance of lying in wait while Perez stalked her at her night class at City College near downtown San Diego. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was given life without parole in 2015, but the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned his guilty plea because he was acting as his own attorney and needed an experienced lawyer.
Diana Gonzalez’s mother, and other family members were present and the victim’s sister, Janette Gonzalez, spoke for the family.
“My niece is now seven years old and she’s starting to ask questions and one day she’ll unfortunately have to know the truth about how my sister was murdered,” said Janette Gonzalez.
“He’s always asking for a fair trial. Why didn’t he give my sister a right to live?” asked Gonzalez. “It seems to be worse every day that passes by. I miss her. If you only knew how much I hate the cemetery.”
“He doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings. He’s worse than the devil,” said Gonzalez. “I wish they had never, ever met.”
Link granted a bid by Deputy District Attorney Jessica Lees to tape the sentencing so it could be available if the law changes and Perez is somehow granted a parole hearing.
His attorney, Bart Sheela III, argued against the taping, saying it was “an idle act” because “there won’t be a parole hearing.”
“Someday I think he’s probably going before a parole board,” said Link, who explained the law could change in the future.
Link ordered Perez to pay $16,898.53 in restitution to the crime victim’s compensation board which paid for Diana Gonzalez’s funeral and other expenses such as mental health counseling to the victim’s family. He fined him $10,224.
Sheela told Link that Perez will be unable to work in prison because of his life without parole sentence.
Perez told the judge and the victim’s family he is no longer “that monster who killed Diana” and apologized. “My selfish ways caused me not to be normal when I was with her,” said Perez.
“Take care of my daughter,” said Perez to the victim’s family. “I didn’t realize I would ever kill Diana. I love her and I still love her.”
“I know it’s hard to forgive me. Forgiveness can let go of so much anger,” said Perez.
“To me, I should have got the death penalty for what I did. I will forever be sorry,” said Perez, adding that he heard voices and was “severely depressed” at the time. “I hope this monster pays forever in prison.”
Perez fled the area after repeatedly stabbing Gonzalez inside a locked men’s bathroom on Oct. 12, 2010. He was arrested in Feb., 2012 by Mexican authorities in a Tijuana bar and extradited to San Diego. After he pleaded guilty, he was sent to a prison in Soledad in Monterey County.
Link gave no jail credits because it is a life without parole sentence. Link noted that the death penalty could not have been imposed because Mexico only extradites people to countries where the death sentence will not be imposed. Former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis promised Mexico the death penalty was ruled out.
Perez was arrested weeks before the slaying on charges of kidnapping his wife and raping her in motel rooms, but Dumanis did not prosecute him, saying they could only proceed on charges that could be proven in court. He was released and her parents drove her around, including the night she was killed after her class.
One of the jurors attended the sentencing. She said the jury heard the 3-week trial in Sept. and deliberated five hours before reaching a verdict.
