Newbury Park Man Accused of Wife’s Slaying Was on Probation for Battery

Nine months before his wife was stabbed to death, a Newbury Park man pleaded guilty to spousal abuse and agreed to attend weekly domestic violence counseling sessions.

Court records show that Domingo Angeles, 37, also agreed not to possess weapons or harm his wife, Lorena.

But law enforcement officials say Angeles grabbed a knife during a Nov. 26 argument with his wife and stabbed her multiple times at the Newbury Park home where they rented a room from an elderly couple. Lorena Angeles, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived about 5 a.m.

On Tuesday, Ventura County prosecutors charged Domingo Angeles with murder, felony domestic violence and enhancements for using a knife and battering the same victim.

Angeles, who is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, did not enter a plea during an arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court. A judge ordered him to appear Dec. 16 to respond to the charges.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Cheryl Temple later declined to comment on the case or whether Angeles had attended counseling sessions as ordered in the domestic violence case.

“It’s tragic,” Temple said. “We do what we can to help people who come into the system. But at the end of the day, people make their own decisions.”

According to court records, Domingo Angeles pleaded guilty Feb. 20 to misdemeanor domestic violence, three days after battering Lorena Angeles. A judge later ordered him to serve 15 days in County Jail and placed him on probation for three years.

Under the terms of probation, Angeles agreed to attend counseling sessions for batterers and show proof of his enrollment in those classes.