An Auburn man was sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison for shooting and killing his girlfriend, while their 4-year-old daughter was also home.
Daniel Espinoza, 35, pled guilty in October 2016 to killing his girlfriend, and mother of his child, Christina Rosales.
Espinoza and Rosales were at a Quinceanera in July 2016 when the couple began fighting. The argument lasted until they got home later that day, where Espinoza grabbed a .40 caliber hand gun and shot Rosales in the head.
She was killed instantly.
The couple's 4-year-old daughter was also in the home when her mother was killed.
“While the defendant may serve his time in a prison cell his daughter will be in an emotional prison for the rest of her life given what she heard and what she saw. All the children of Christine Rosales’s will suffer for the rest of their lives because of the defendant’s jealous anger.”
Espinoza ran away after the shooting but was later confronted by Placer County Sheriff's Department. He proceeded to shoot at deputies until he ran out of ammunition, before being arrested.
At the sentencing hearing, Rosales mother spoke while clutching her daughter's baby blanket.
“She was a daughter, a sister, a mother, in fact to sum it up she was a beautiful and real person that was taken from her family to soon," said Lisa Hurd. "We will never see her again!”
Espinoza pled guilty to one count of Second Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of the Murder, three counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a police officer, enhancement for discharging a firearm. He was sentenced to 69 years to life in prison.
