Inset, left to right: Victor Farias Jr. (Kern County District Attorney’s Office) and Yolanda Rojo (GoFundMe). Background: Authorities responding to the apartment complex where Farias killed Rojo (KGET).
A 34-year-old California man could spend the rest of his life in prison for killing the mother of his two young children, repeatedly stabbing the 30-year-old woman in the head as the children watched.
Following a two-week trial, a jury in Kern County on Friday found Victor Farias Jr. guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse and resisting arrest in the stabbing death of Yolanda Rojo, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, officers with the Bakersfield Police Department responded to a reported domestic dispute just before 10 p.m. on March 25 at the Shadow Ridge Apartments in the 7000 block of College Avenue. Upon arriving, first responders found Rojo lying on the floor, covered in blood and suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Rojo had a slight pulse and was rushed to Kern Medical, where she was pronounced dead.
An autopsy later determined that Rojo suffered more than 90 wounds, including “69 sharp force injuries on her head, neck, and back along with 23 stab wounds and numerous defensive wounds on her hands and arms,” the DA’s office said. Three stab wounds to Rojo’s head fractured her skull.
The couple’s children, ages 4 and 6, were in the room during the killing.
“The six-year-old child attempted to help her mother by calling the cops, but Farias took the phone away,” the release states. “Although being chased by Farias, the child was able to run out of the house to tell a neighbor.”
According to court documents obtained by Bakersfield CBS affiliate KBAK, an injured Rojo instructed her 6-year-old daughter to run to the neighbor for help. A doorbell camera reportedly captured the child running from the apartment and screaming, “Stop! Stop doing that!” as Farias followed her.
The girl and her younger sister reached a neighbor, who called police, Bakersfield NBC affiliate KGET reported.
Farias had reportedly gone shopping with Rojo and their daughters earlier that evening before returning to Rojo’s apartment. After the killing, he fled in a black Nissan Altima that later crashed into a big rig on Highway 58.
When law enforcement arrived at the crash, Farias had disappeared into the Tehachapi Mountains. He was found in Tehachapi on March 26, where he initially gave officers a false name and then resisted arrest, prosecutors said.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the number and nature of Rojo’s wounds showed that Farias intended to kill the mother of his children.
Farias’ defense attorney reportedly acknowledged that Farias was responsible for the stabbing but sought a second-degree murder conviction, asserting that he acted impulsively and without premeditation when he attacked Rojo.
Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer released a statement about the verdict.
“Victor Farias took Yolanda’s life believing he could silence her and conceal the truth,” the statement said. “However, through the courage of her young children and the evidence recovered at the crime scene, Farias was ultimately found guilty of her premeditated murder, ensuring that Yolanda and her children obtained the justice they deserve.”
Farias is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 2. He faces 25 years to life in prison.
