Killer of Elderly Couple Given 2 Life Terms Without Parole

A 25-year-old Sylmar man was sentenced Friday to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the brutal stabbing deaths of an elderly couple during a robbery of their North Hollywood home.

A jury found Israel Cebrera Pulido guilty Wednesday of multiple counts of murder and robbery in connection with the November 2000 deaths of Sabato and Eugenia Russo, both 73.

“He’ll never walk free again. But no matter what happens, we can’t get them back,” said Antonietta Russo, niece of the victims.

“This is one of the most terrible cases I have ever heard,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Barry Taylor, before sentencing Pulido in a Van Nuys courtroom. Several of the 20 relatives and friends of the Russos who attended the hearing spoke in court.

“I wish you a long and torturous life with hardened criminals for what you did,” said the victims’ daughter, Rosanna Tolino, to Pulido.

Neither the defendant’s attorney nor the victims’ relatives were available for comment outside of court.

The murders shocked and devastated the Russos’ family and friends and patrons of their popular Sabatino’s Italian Restaurant in North Hollywood.

It was a neighborhood favorite, known not just for its food but for the kindness and generosity of the Russos. Pulido took advantage of that, said Dmitry Gorin, deputy district attorney.

The elderly couple had known Pulido for only about two weeks. He was hired to install and finish wood floors in the Russos’ home in November 2000, Gorin said.

Sabato Russo liked Pulido, often praised his work ethic and planned to hire him at his restaurant, Gorin said. When police officers arrived at the Russo home after the killings, they found a box of toys the couple had collected for Pulido’s children, Gorin said.

Pulido planned to rob the Russos to repay a $1,000 debt, the prosecutor said. Before going to the couple’s home, Pulido unsuccessfully attempted to hire a day laborer to hold down Eugenia during the robbery, Gorin said.

Pulido showed up at the Russo home with a 10-inch knife, believing there was money in three floor safes in the house. But the Russos didn’t keep their money in the safes, Gorin said. Pulido instead took $99 in cash, Eugenia’s bracelet and a rare coin owned by Sabato, and stabbed them both to death, said prosecutor Paula Selesnick.

Police later found $20,000 in cash hidden in the cushions of two couches, said Gorin.

The greatest tragedy, said Antonietta Russo, is that her family would have gladly helped Pulido. “I wish Mr. Pulido, instead of sitting here today, bringing tears and distress to our family, he would have come to us,” she said. “We would have fed him and kept him safe.”