Josefino Maldonado of Salinas convicted of the 2021 murder of his estranged wife
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Josefino Cayetano Maldonado of Salinas pled guilty to the second-degree murder of his estranged wife Eudelia Gonzalez announced the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On March 25, 2025, Maldonado also admitted to the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon to commit the crime and he is expected to be sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release about the conviction Thursday.
"My hope is this plea and eventual sentence will help the victim’s family find the long-awaited closure they have been patiently waiting for," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Tom Steele, who prosecuted the case.
On the night of July 10, 2021, Gonzalez left a party to meet with Maldonado after they had been separated for eight years detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the pair traveled up Potrero Road near Newbury Park and briefly stopped before heading toward Oxnard.
During the drive, Maldonado attempted to reconcile their relationship, but Gonzalez refused explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On July 11, 2021, around 12:30 a.m., Maldonado pulled over near East Hueneme Road and both he and Gonzalez where outside of the vehicle when Maldonado grabbed a rock and repeatedly hit Gonzalez in the head with it, leaving her incapacitated detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Maldonado then put Gonzalez back in the vehicle and drove north of Santa Barbara near Gaviota where he stopped the vehicle, wrapped Gonzalez's head in a plastic bag and then a sweatshirt, and then dumped her body down a steep embankment alongside Highway 101 explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Gonzalez's 17-year-old daughter reported her missing after she did not return home and did not show up to work shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Oxnard Police detectives questioned Maldonado while investigating Gonzalez's disappearance and he denied seeing Gonzalez and claimed he was not in Ventura County at the time noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, phone records later revealed he was in the area at the time of the crime and when confronted with that evidence, Maldonado eventually admitted to the murder and later led detectives to the location of her body.
Maldonado is currently scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing on April 22, 2025, in courtroom 48 of the Ventura County Superior Court and he remains in custody without bail noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
