Tony Louis Valez (Lewis and Clark County) and Arianna Frankie Louise Valez (KTVH screenshot)
A 66-year-old man in Montana will spend the rest of his days behind bars after admitting to killing his 8-year-old daughter last year, fatally shooting the little girl while trying to kill his longtime partner and their 18-year-old son in a fit of rage last year.
District Court Judge Mike Menahan ordered Tony Louis Valez on Wednesday to serve 100 years in a state correctional facility for the 2022 slaying of young Arianna Frankie Louise Valez, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime.
Valez, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, diabetes and hepatitis B, appeared for the hearing via Zoom because he requires an oxygen tank, the Independent Record reported. Video posted by the newspaper showed Valez sitting next to his lawyer with tubes out of his nose during the hearing.
Valez last month pleaded guilty to a count of deliberate homicide for killing Arianna.
In addition to shooting his daughter, Valez shot his longtime partner and Arianna’s mother, who recovered from her injuries after reportedly doing a stint in the ICU. Valez also tried to shoot his 18-year-old son but missed and accidentally struck Arianna in the back.
In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors reportedly dropped two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for Valez shooting at the two adults.
According to a press release from the Helena Police Department, officers responded on July 10, 2022, to a residence in the 800 block of Orange Avenue after a man — Valez — said he had just shot at people inside his home who were trying to attack him. Another 911 call was placed by a different person shortly after, who told the dispatcher a woman had been shot at the same address.
First responders found a girl suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the back. She died at a hospital.
According to court documents obtained by Helena, Montana, NBC affiliate KTVH, Valez believed his partner and son were trying to remove him from the home. He told investigators he snapped and grabbed a handgun he kept in his room, then opened fire on them. He reportedly fired five bullets.
Valez tried to shoot his son but missed and struck Ariana in the back as she was trying to run to safety, records said.
“I just can’t believe being evicted would justify picking up a handgun in that small of a space with children present,” Judge Menahan said before handing down the sentence Wednesday. “He engaged in dangerous behavior that put everyone’s life at risk and intended to bring harm to the adults present.”
“The day Arianna died, so did a part of my heart,” Ariana’s mother, Heather Hall, read a victim impact statement, according to the Record. “I fall asleep crying.”
Hall also asked the court to give Valez the maximum sentence, saying she believed her life would be in danger if he were ever released.
Valez also reportedly addressed the court, apologizing for his actions and saying that “the pain will last a lifetime.”
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