California man sentenced for fatally stabbing girlfriend more than 30 times in front of her mother

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (TCD) — A judge sentenced a man this week to 33 years to life in prison for the 2020 stabbing death of his live-in girlfriend and the assault of her mother, who had tried to intervene.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Euren Balbuena was sentenced Jan. 17 for the first-degree murder of his romantic partner, Zaira Patino-Trejo, as well as battery causing great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon against his girlfriend’s mother. A jury convicted Balbuena on Nov. 21, 2023, and also found special allegations of use of a deadly weapon and great bodily injury in commission of a felony to be true.

According to an initial press release from the Simi Valley Police Department, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, shortly after 9 a.m., officers conducted a welfare check near East Los Angeles and Emory avenues after a 51-year-old woman flagged down citizens in the area, telling them her daughter, Patino-Trejo, had been stabbed by her boyfriend, Balbuena.

The district attorney’s office said the victim’s mother “ran bleeding from the apartment” and had a bystander call 911.

When officers entered the home, they found Patino-Trejo in the kitchen with multiple stab wounds and pronounced her dead at the scene.

The victim’s mother, who had sustained facial lacerations, was reportedly transported to a local hospital and survived her injuries.

Police arrested Balbuena, who remained at the scene.

Prosecutors argued Balbuena and Patino-Trejo got into a dispute inside their apartment. The victim’s mother knew about the couple’s ongoing argument and the history of domestic violence. She tried to make contact with her daughter but couldn’t, so she reportedly went to their apartment to help.

According to the district attorney’s office, once there, the victim’s mother observed signs of abuse on Patino-Trejo’s face and tried to leave with her. However, Balbuena refused to let his girlfriend leave, and instead, he grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it toward his girlfriend’s mother.

Balbuena slashed Patino-Trejo’s mother twice in the head and then stabbed his girlfriend more than 30 times with multiple knives. The Ventura County Star reports that in total, Balbuena stabbed and slashed his girlfriend around 95 times.

Patino-Trejo’s family reportedly read impact statements during Balbuena’s sentencing hearing. According to the Ventura County Star, while the victim’s mother spoke, Patino-Trejo’s stepfather lunged toward Balbuena, and a courtroom fight erupted. Bailiffs separated the two and removed the victim’s stepfather from the courtroom. The sheriff’s office has not yet filed a case regarding the incident.

Supervising Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Suttner said in a statement, “Zaira Patino-Trejo was such a vibrant young woman with a bright future. We cannot replace her unimaginable loss, but we pursued justice for Zaira and her family. We hope that this sentence brings some small relief to her family, knowing that Euren Balbuena was held accountable for her brutal murder.”

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