Fresno man who fatally beat, tortured woman he met online agrees to plea deal
A Fresno man accused of fatally beating an autistic woman in 2017 pleaded no contest Thursday to second degree murder and torture.
Gabriel Salvador Salinas, 46, will be sentenced on Oct. 14 and will likely spend 22 -years-to-life in prison for the death of Charity DePina of Merced. Had he gone to trial and been convicted, he could have faced 33 years to life in prison.
Salinas was arrested and charged with murder and torture after police said he attacked DePina, 22, on Nov. 10, 2017. The two were at his southeast Fresno home when they got into an argument and he began hitting her in the upper body with a blunt object, police said. DePina later died of her injuries at the hospital.
DePina, who was described by family members as polite and high-spirited, told family that she was the victim of domestic violence. The family tried calling police, but didn’t know where DePina was staying.
DePina’s family has said she had the mental development of about a 10-year-old. She was seeking love and attention, they say. But she found neither with Salinas, who brutally robbed the young woman of her life, according to Fresno police.
Prosecutor Nathan Lambert and defense attorney Mark Broughton agreed to settle the case without going through what would have likely been an emotional trial.
“By entering a plea he benefits and the family benefits to the extent that they don’t have to relive what happened,” Broughton said. “There was a preliminary hearing in this case and it was probably painful enough.”
Broughton said Salinas has expressed remorse for what he has done and was ready to accept his punishment. Broughton said his client has a mental condition that made him consider filing a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
“He gets to a certain point where he is no longer able to control his actions,” Broughton said. “So he didn’t quite understand what happened at the time. Once that set in he became very remorseful.”
Family members have said DePina met Salinas in an online chat room in early 2017. He would pick DePina up in Merced, then drive to Fresno where they would stay together for days.
DePina’s family are expected to be at the sentencing for Salinas in October.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 2:52 PM.
