2 men accused of killing woman who was suspect in 2 slayings

It was hazardous to a man’s health to marry Sonia Rios Risken.

Her first husband was shot and killed while visiting her relatives in the Philippines in 1987. Her second husband was killed 19 years later, also shot in the head, while visiting her relatives in the Philippines. After the second man’s death, the FBI began investigating, and Risken was suspected of arranging the killings.

Then, on April 19, 2007, someone took a shot at Risken in her hair salon. A week later, she was dead, shot in the back of her head as she stood in the entryway of her home in Lomita, dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe. Her son discovered her body the next day.

On Monday, Risken’s grandnephew -- who was an active-duty Navy sailor at the time of the killing -- and a Navy buddy were arraigned on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Both pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $2 million each.

The grandnephew, Eric Santander Delacruz, 29, and Fernando Romero, 25, remained silent as they sat in a Torrance courtroom, their hands cuffed behind them.

Delacruz, slightly built with short hair, wore a yellow knit shirt and jeans. Romero, the bigger of the two men, had a beard and wore a black T-shirt and checked pants. Both were arrested Friday at their homes, Delacruz in Carson and Romero in Highland, in San Bernardino County

The two sailors were assigned to the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan at the time of the killing. According to a criminal complaint, authorities are not sure whether one or both men went to the victim’s residence and allegedly killed her. Authorities would not disclose a motive for the killing.

Risken’s first husband was Earl John Bourdeau, a retired Marine, and her second was Larry Risken, a retired naval officer.

During an interview with a Times reporter, Larry Risken’s sister, Sherry Jackson, said her brother and Delacruz were close. She said her brother had helped Delacruz get into the Navy and encouraged him to stay in. “I truly do believe Eric did love my brother, and my brother was a mentor to Eric,” she said. “But money gets to people and that family is all about money. I truly cannot wait until the motive comes out.”

According to the criminal complaint, the conspiracy began in January 2007 when Delacruz began e-mailing Jackson. Using a Yahoo e-mail account, he allegedly pretended that he was Sonia Rios Risken’s son, John Bourdeau. At the same time, Delacruz sent Jackson e-mails under his real identity. Jackson said she had never met Delacruz, nor knew that Sonia Rios Risken had a son. The e-mails soon took a disturbing turn.

In February 2007, Delacruz e-mailed Jackson under his false identity and said that for $35,000, he could arrange for the return of Jackson’s brother’s remains from the Philippines. The money was to be deposited in a Washington Mutual account -- an account that belonged to Delacruz’s girlfriend.

In a follow-up e-mail that same day, he offered to have Sonia Rios Risken killed, authorities said.

About a month later, Delacruz sent another e-mail under his false identity, according to the complaint. “I have a friend in L.A. and he can find a way to kill Sonia Rios Risken,” he allegedly wrote. “All I need is your permission, you don’t have to pay him right now. He will kill her first and then you can pay him later.”

“I was stunned,” Jackson said. “I can’t believe this happened. Why is someone e-mailing me this. I was scared.”

Jackson said she sent the e-mails to the FBI agent who was investigating the deaths of Risken’s two husbands, but never heard from him. “I’m pretty bitter about the FBI,” she said. “They were handed, on a silver platter, information that someone was going to kill Sonia. All those e-mails sent to me were sent directly to the FBI, and not once was I contacted.”

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman, said, “The agent did receive the e-mails. However, they could not be immediately traced. They could not be traced to an actual person, and it was not until further investigation that ultimately subjects were identified.”

Jackson, who lives in Olympia, Wash., said she contacted Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after her father received an e-mail from Delacruz saying, “Did you kill my aunt? I need to know.”

“Are we going to be killed too?” she added. “What’s next?”

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jeff.gottlieb@latimes.com