Inset: Jose Carlos Villanueva (KGTV). Background: The 7-Eleven store in Chula Vista, California, where Villanueva allegedly set his ex-girlfriend on fire, killing her (KNSD).
A California man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend after he set her on fire while she worked at 7-Eleven last year appeared before a judge this week for a preliminary hearing.
Jose Carlos Villanueva, 49, is charged with murder, arson causing great bodily harm, mayhem and torture in the death of 44-year-old Amanda Buchanan.
Cops responded to a fire just after 8 a.m. Aug. 24, 2024, at the 7-Eleven at 899 Broadway in Chula Vista, a San Diego suburb. Smoke billowed from the store”s front doors when officers arrived. They found one woman suffering from significant burns outside and could hear another woman’s voice coming from the inside.
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Officers found Buchanan and carried her outside as she was unable to move on her own, cops said. Both women, who were employees, were rushed to the hospital. Buchanan died a few days later. The other woman suffered serious injuries but survived.
Buchanan’s son said that he reviewed the surveillance footage from inside the store.
“She couldn’t see him come in,” Dominic Rivera told local ABC affiliate KGTV. “As he came in, she had her back turned to go to the bathroom. He rushed in with a can of gasoline, doused her with it, they got into a scuffle, and that’s when he set her on fire.”
Her co-worker tried to put out the fire and was burned in the process. The store owner grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the fire after 40 seconds, Rivera said.
Villanueva drove away in a BMW. Cops later tracked down the vehicle using license plate readers and arrested him at a gas station in Redlands, some 100 miles north of Chula Vista.
While Villanueva and Buchanan were previously in a relationship, the motive for setting her on fire has not been publicly divulged.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Buchanan’s friend described her horrific injuries.
“She was wrapped like a mummy,” explained Alma Ogden, according to a courtroom report from NBC affiliate KNSD. “She had no face and no ears. Her hair was gone. The only thing I could see was her toes.”
The preliminary hearing is set to continue on Dec. 17. Villanueva remains in the San Diego County Jail without bond.
