Lompoc man pleads guilty to 2017 Easter Sunday Orcutt homicide
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.– Former Lompoc resident Jorge Tovar Fernandez pleads guilty to the April 2017 first-degree murder of Elyse Marie Erwin, according to the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office.
Fernandez will accept a 25-year to life in prison jail sentence for shooting Erwin as she arrived to her Santa Maria home after visiting a friend on Goodwin Road. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's reported Erwin died on the scene that Easter Sunday.
The two were known to each other and had a young daughter together at the time of the murder.
“This horrific murder,” said District Attorney Joyce Dudley, “was the worst kind of domestic violence. It occurred years after the couple separated, but the defendant continued to engage in relentless stalking behavior. If you, or someone you know, is experiencing any form of domestic violence, or is being stalked, please call 911; in doing so you could become a life-saver.”
Sentencing will take place on Feb. 24, 2023.
