Marco Antonio Cota Jr. sentenced to 75 years to life for November murder and mutilation of a body
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – On Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced that Marco Antonio Cota Jr. has been sentenced to 75 years to life plus 21 years for the November 2021 murder of Rick Fowler at a campsite.
Cota Jr. was also required to register as sex offender added the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office in a press release about the sentencing.
On the evening of Nov. 20, 2021, in the Bianchi Open Space area, Cota Jr. and 64-year-old Rick Fowler were involved in a verbal argument stated the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
Cota Jr. followed Fowler back to his campsite where he beat him to death and then pierced Fowler's body in various ways, including Fowler's rectum, with several wooden sticks detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, when Cota Jr. was asked why he mutilated Fowler's remains, he replied, "he wanted to show you what evil looks like."
On Feb. 13, 2024, a San Luis Obispo County jury found Cota Jr. guilty of murder and mutilation of a body and Judge Cavello found true the special allegation that Cota Jr. already had three prior felony convictions or strikes under California's Three Strikes Law.
Cota Jr.'s prior convictions are a 1998 conviction for robbery in Tulare County, a conviction for criminal threats in 2014, and a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in 2016 shared the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
"Finally, there is justice for Mr. Rick Fowler, the victim in this case, who was senselessly and brutally murdered and his body mutilated," said District Attorney Dan Dow. "We are grateful to the jury for faithfully performing their civic duty by their careful attention to the presentation of evidence. Mr. Cota was given a fair trial, and now he will serve his fair and appropriate life sentence in prison. This sentence sends a loud message that violent crime is aggressively prosecuted in San Luis Obispo County."
