16-Years-to-Life Term Imposed in Stabbing

As the victim’s tearful relatives looked on, a 28-year-old man convicted of brutally stabbing his live-in girlfriend to death last year in front of her 3-year-old daughter was sentenced to 16 years to life imprisonment Friday.

In handing down the sentence, Superior Court Judge Jean M. Rheinheimer called the crime “egregious” and said she hoped the youngest child of Leticia Herrejon would not be affected by witnessing the slaying.

Carlos Manuel Pacheco was under the influence of alcohol, PCP and other drugs when he stabbed Herrejon 14 times in the Anaheim apartment the couple shared, according to court records. A jury convicted him of second-degree murder in August.

Pacheco said the child was asleep during the attack. But according to court records, the girl witnessed the slaying and was found by police sitting on a bloodied sofa with her 32-year-old mother laying dead on the floor in front of her.

In a letter to the court written last month, Pacheco expressed his remorse. Pacheco also has said he should be held accountable for his actions, according to a pre-sentencing report prepared by probation officers.

“It’s very unusual for a defendant whose defense was that he was under the influence of drugs to stand up and say, ‘I’m still responsible and should pay the consequences,’ ” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko, who prosecuted the case.