3 Family Members Sentenced In Love-Triangle Murder: DA

SANTA ROSA, CA — Three Lake County residents were sentenced Thursday to lengthy prison terms for a love triangle killing in 2017, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said. Maria Guadalupe Torres, 42, her husband Rene Espinoza Martinez, 42, and their son Rene Espinoza Jr. 22, all of Clearlake, coordinated the slaying of 25-year-old Antonio Botello-Arreola around Sept. 1, 2017.

Arreola had developed a relationship with Torres while he stayed on the defendant's property, and Martinez and Espinoza Jr. conspired with Torres to lure Arreola to a remote area of Sonoma County on Porter Creek Road, prosecutors said.

Torres was with Arreola in a Toyota Previa that was being followed by Espinoza Jr. and Martinez, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. When the Previa pulled over, Torres got out of the car and Arreola was shot. He ran and fell into a ravine and his body was found when the
California Highway Patrol found the Previa on Sept. 1, 2017, according to the sheriff's office.

A trial was not held because each defendant entered a "no contest" plea to murder charges, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

"The case was set for trial to begin on June 28, 2019 when all defendants reached an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office to plead guilty," according to Joan Croft, spokeswoman for the DA's Office.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo sentenced Espinoza Jr. to 50 years to life in prison for first-degree murder and personal use of a firearm.

DeMeo sentenced Torres was to 25 years to life in prison for first-degree murder and Martinez to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Victim's Lover Among 3 Arrested In Sonoma Co. Homicide: Sheriff's Office
• Body Found On Side Of Sonoma Co. Roadway: Sheriff
• Victim In Alleged Love Triangle Homicide ID'd By Sonoma Co. Authorities

— Bay City News Service and Patch local editor Maggie Avants contributed to this report.