EL Cajon Man Pleads Guilty to Stabbing his Wife to Death

EL CAJON, CA – A man who stabbed his wife to death in their El Cajon apartment three-and-a-half years ago pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder.

Salem Zora, 51, will be sentenced on Feb. 15 to 16 years to life in state prison.

Zora made an emergency call shortly before 8 p.m. on June 2, 2013, telling a dispatcher he had returned to his rental home on Roanoke Road to find that his 39-year-old wife, Gankil Wijdan, was not breathing, according to police.

Paramedics tried in vain to revive the victim before pronouncing her dead at the scene.

While questioning Zora, officers noted several inconsistencies in his account of what happened, said Lt. Mike Moulton.

Zora was arrested early the next day.

The day of the murder, the victim told her sister that she couldn't come to a birthday party as planned because Zora – her husband of three years – didn't want her to go, according to family members.

Zora, in his plea, did not say why he killed his wife, said Deputy District Attorney Matthew Dix.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock