Left: Joseph A. Garcia (Facebook). Right: Joseph M. Garcia (Starbuck-Lind Mortuary).
A California man who poured tiki torch oil on his father”s head and set him ablaze while the 68-year-old was holding his dog on his lap will die in prison after being sentenced last week.
Joseph Ashley Garcia, 44, was sentenced last Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was found guilty on April 13 of murder, cruelty to animals and four sentencing enhancements, including torture, for the death of his father, Joseph Michael Garcia, in June 2022.
Joe M. Garcia died from septic shock 10 days after he was set on fire and suffered severe burns on 35% of his body.
“You brought this on yourself,” Joseph A. Garcia admitted telling his dad on the night he attacked him, according to court testimony reported by the Santa Barbara news outlet Noozhawk.
Joe A. Garcia confessed during his April trial to pouring between 3 and 4 ounces of tiki torch oil, or acetone, from a bottle onto his dad’s head. He said that he was only trying to set Joe M. Garcia’s hair on fire, a claim prosecutors reportedly pushed back on.
“You didn’t do what you needed to do to only burn his hair, right?” Senior Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore asked Garcia while he was on the stand. “I guess I’d agree with that,” Garcia said, according to Noozhawk.
Prosecutors said Joe A. Garcia was “more concerned” about himself than his father after setting him ablaze.
“I suppose so,” Garcia confessed, recalling how he didn’t yell or call for help during the incident.
Prosecutors recounted how Joe A. Garcia had accused his father of having an affair with his spouse before the attack. Methamphetamine use was allegedly a contributing factor.
“I just had it with him,” Joe A. Garcia told police after being arrested. “I was sick of his s—.”
Joe M. Garcia was holding his terrier, Charlie, on his lap when Joe A. Garcia set him on fire, according to local officials.
An obituary for Joe M. Garcia says he lived almost his entire life in Lompoc — where his son was a cannabis advocate — and “enjoyed” taking Charlie to the beach.
Prosecutors called his murder case “one of the most disturbing” they have ever dealt with.
“This verdict reflects exactly what justice looks like for one of the most disturbing cases our office has prosecuted,” said Santa Barbara District Attorney John Savrnoch in a statement after Joseph A. Garcia was convicted. “The jury heard the evidence and held this defendant fully accountable. A finding of first-degree murder with the torture special circumstance sends an unambiguous message that this community will not tolerate acts of extreme cruelty.”
While appearing in Santa Maria Superior Court last week for his sentencing, the younger Garcia remained expressionless during victim impact statements and while the court played video of his father, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. He reportedly spoke only to his attorney.
