Raymond Lynde (Chula Vista Police Department ).
A man in California will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his sister”s ex-boyfriend and then fleeing the country for years.
Raymond Lynde, 33, has been sentenced to 51 years to life in prison for killing Ariel Burquez, 23, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced earlier this week.
The July 2020 killing took place outside of Burquez’s apartment complex in Chula Vista.
Lynde had just been released from from a 12-year prison sentence for several armed robberies in Orange County — about 100 miles northwest — when he “ambushed” Burquez, the DA’s office said. The since-convicted man then stabbed the victim 28 times, “leaving him for dead.”
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Burquez is said to have “collapsed at his front door” and died.
Lynde subsequently disposed of the knife, hid some bloody clothes, and fled to Mexico, where he lived for nearly two years before being spotted. The U.S. Marshals Service announced his arrest in May 2022.
“This was a savage murder that was motivated by animosity and revenge,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “I hope today’s sentence closes a chapter and brings a measure of justice for the family of Mr. Burquez. We’re grateful to our law enforcement colleagues in Mexico for their help in bringing the defendant back to San Diego to be held accountable for his vicious crime.”
Lynde’s sister testified during the trial that she dated Burquez for about six months from 2018 to 2019. When the relationship ended, Burquez allegedly “vandalized property belonging to Lynde’s sister and allegedly shot at her weeks prior to the murder,” the DA’s office said.
Lynde reportedly admitted that he stabbed Burquez but claimed he did it in self-defense. The jury was not convinced.
