Girl’s Death After Long Coma Carries Murder Charge

The death in January of 19-year-old Sandra Zarate, an innocent gang-shooting victim who had languished in a coma 2 1/2 years, has prompted an unusual legal move against her convicted assailant.

Abraham Matilde Gutierrez, 21, now serving a sentence in state prison for attempted murder in the Zarate shooting, faces arraignment this week in Pomona Superior Court for murder. The new charge is allowable under California law because Zarate died after her injury within three years and a day. If convicted, Gutierrez, serving an 18-year term, could see his sentence changed to 37 years to life.

The rare legal maneuver is welcomed by Gutierrez’s defense attorney, who has for the past few months unsuccessfully sought a retrial, claiming to have new evidence exonerating his client.

The prosecutor, meanwhile, said a full retrial is not necessary because he already proved Gutierrez fired the gun the night of June 2, 1990, in Valinda. Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom Falls said the case is limited to a simple issue: Did the wound inflicted by that burst of gunfire kill Sandra Zarate?

The unusual case appears headed for a thicket of legal questions before trial ever begins. But for Zarate’s father, the legal wrangling means His daughter’s accused killer will be brought a step closer to justice.

“My daughter was in a coma; blind, paralyzed; she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t eat,” Joe Zarate, 41.